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" I was 18 when I first visited London, I'm very provincial like that, but I must confess the moment I got to America I thought: This is the place. It was more open, with 24-hour cities and pubs and restaurants that didn't close. "

David Hockney

Moment

America

Thought

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" Yes, I did, I mean I painted er, in a kind of abstract expressionist way, because of course that was exciting. "

" Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make. "

" What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing. You wouldn't be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought. "

" Smoking calms me down. It's enjoyable. I don't want politicians deciding what is exciting in my life. "

" I avoid the public because the English public is too aggressive these days for me. "

David Hockney

Days

Because

" I was aware that the teaching of drawing was being stopped almost 30 years ago. And I always said, 'The teaching of drawing is the teaching of looking.' A lot of people don't look very hard. "

" I generally only paint people I know, I'm not a flatterer really. "

" Always live in the ugliest house on the street - then you don't have to look at it. "

" Of course you can still paint landscape - it's not been worn out. "

" I can often tell when drawings are done from photographs, because you can tell what they miss out, what the camera misses out: usually weight and volume - there's a flatness to them. "

" I draw flowers every day and send them to my friends so they get fresh blooms every morning. "

" Enjoyment of the landscape is a thrill. "

" I went to art school actually when I was sixteen years old. "

" I do do a lot of talking, because it saves me listening. "

David Hockney

Because

Talking

" Picasso is still influencing me. Of course, I haven't got that kind of energy, or skill. "

" I mean if you draw you like drawing, it's er, an activity you do all the time actually. "

" All painters are interested in photography to a certain extent. "

" Like people, trees are all individuals. "

" Drawing makes you see things clearer, and clearer and clearer still, until your eyes ache. "

" It is very good advice to believe only what an artist does, rather than what he says about his work. "

" On the iPhone I tended to draw with my thumb. Whereas the moment I got to the iPad, I found myself using every finger. "

" Easel painting means small painting. "

" I'm always excited by the unlikely, never by ordinary things. "

" I value my friends. "

David Hockney

Value

Friends

" Most artists work all the time, they do actually, especially good artists, they work all the time, what else is there to do? I mean you do. "

" I worked in the NHS as a hospital orderly during my national service, and people thought it was a noble service. But over the years it's lost its humanity. "

" Listening is a positive act: you have to put yourself out to do it. "