My dream maybe because of my family of course was to be a painter. I chose in one moment the direction of textiles from textiles I went to fashion.

I do not believe the picture that some people paint of Scottish towns dependent on welfare. Every time I come here I meet people who are determined to get into work. Who with the right help are desperate to get off benefits support their family and set an example for their children.

Used to be conservatives revered the Average American that Norman Rockwell oil painting of diner food humble faith honest toil and Capraesque virtue.

Painting is a faith and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion.

Artists need some kind of stimulating experience a lot of times which crystallizes when you sing about it or paint it or sculpt it. You literally mold the experience the way you want. It's therapy.

I always thought that one of the reasons why a painter likes especially to have other painters look at his or her work is the shared experience of having pushed paint around.

I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself and the paintings appear as in a dream.

My father made sure that I had lots of levels of education - from ballroom-dancing to painting commando training theatre and magic.

Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams.

I paint what cannot be photographed that which comes from the imagination or from dreams or from an unconscious drive.