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Painting is something that you need to do, if not every day, then certainly most days. It is almost like being a pianist: if you stop, you lose something.

When I was 13 or 14, I took seven months off from touring. I did a lot of weekend gigs in Louisiana. We have fairs and festivals every weekend. But I took seven months off. That's when I really started digging deep. I wrote a couple songs that year that I still play every now and then for people.

The big new development in my life is, when I turned 80, I decided I no longer have to do four pages a day. For me, it's like retiring.

I have been looking forward to this age of my life for a long time. In my twenties, I marked the days on the calendar - I was sick of playing high-school kids.

I don't have time to sit up and write songs all day. Maybe one day when my kids get older.

Life is different than it was in the Nineties. I'm a dad, and there are other things I have to get done in an afternoon than just being an artist.

Being an artist is a very long game. It is not a 10-year game. I hope I'll be around making art when I'm 80.

I work every day, and every year I spend seven months away from my family. I miss my kids' birthdays, and those are times I will never be able to go back on and share with them. That kills me.

I go to the studio every day, but I don't paint every day. I love playing with my architectural models. I love making plans. I could spend my life arranging things.