Artistic Influences

Lucian Freud
"The sacrifice of an agreeable life."
Oh the legacy of work and the discipline.

Neil Hannon
Simply a brilliant inventive musician and lyricist.

Tracey Emin
Always interesting Tracey, love her world view.

Ivor Cutler
Such a wonderful man, insightful, witty and just plain fun. Such a great loss to the world, there is nobody like him.

Erich Fromm
"Love is not easy". The Art of Loving is one of my favourite books, which I reread every few years to remind me of its wisdom. It's not perfect, but it's very readable and helps to frame what love is.

Michael Neil
Why Aren't We Awesomer?
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Balthus
​​"...I was struck by the divine aspect of reality". "I am not interested in the way adults look at things". A self taught outsider artist whose use of colour and composition intrigues. He made his own path and despite criticism did not sway from his often controversial subject matter.​

Eckhart Tolle
"Awakening, it's not an adding to but a separation" "Being rooted, achored in the present moment"
"People resort to a sense of aliveness from drama"
"spacious relationship with the conditions of your life"
"you can sense the truth of the human condition".
"Your primary purpose is... in the now."
Some of the dialogue is transcribed here and there is a short video extract here.

Frank Auerbach
"Painting is mysterious"..."It isn't really a success game". "This it seems to me is what life is for". Me too.

Alain De Botton
A modern day thinker whose books always resonate and offer insights that I seem incapable of articulating myself! A great public speaker too, very entertaining and engaging. A seeker, asking the big questions!

Amanda Palmer
A story of an artist trying to make a living.

Bonnard
Inspired by his use of oil paint, in particular how he constructs the most flat looking areas with a myriad of colourful strokes. The obsession with the "everyday" and his muse.


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Paolo Coelho
The Alchemist was one of the first books that woke me up to the idea of looking at ones life as a whole, as a journey to be enjoyed, each step of the way...

Grayson Perry
"You have to have a brand and I'm a tranny potter". LOL, a really lovely Englishman, artist, craftsman.

Sam Keen
Read "To love and Be Loved", it's a wonderful book.
"Attention is love". "Develop a reverence for the other person's life." Rediscover "wonder". "Stop, listen and look."​

Natalia Avseenko
How better breathing can make us more present and conscious.

Milton Glaser
​"Art at it's fullest capacity makes us attentive... if it moves you to attentiveness it is art".
"I am obsessed with drawing being the fundamental tool".
"The distinction between what you thought things were, and what they actually are."

Bill Viola
​Video can definitely be art.

"If you get people to think about love, they'll be better at solving problems creatively, if you get people to think about sex they'll be better at the 'process' part of problem solving."