It depends—as in, should you take them? I know some people who absolutely cannot or would not. And most of them aren’t even artists. I would say to myself the majority—maybe 90 percent—would not. But I’m sure they would have something interesting to offer. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has made a film about how I started out as a child in the ’70s, and how I was in the audience for many of the great artists that came out of the ’80s and ’90s, and the people that went to college and the people who came after me. In fact, it’s almost like a ’70s documentary, with all the people that were in the audience. It’s really cool.
Do you have a philosophy or a particular style? That’s difficult to answer, because it’s not really defined, really, by any one thing. I mean, it would probably be that it’s very subjective. There’s probably the right way to look at certain paintings as well. There are certain moments when I just go—this is what I like, this is what I like, and here it is—and there’s moments when I go, well, I could do them that way. And I’ve done some that way that work very well, and I’ve done some that work really badly.
I mean, what’s your favorite subject to do painting on?
My favorite subject is probably trees. [A] lot of my work is always in trees and what they represent. And it also depends on the nature of the context like I said before, you’re not always working on the trees and the landscape itself. Sometimes you’re getting to the edges where—not often, but it can happen there, but also in places where you get to look at the world through objects like trees.
It’s amazing that it’s all within the same subject, though, isn’t it?
Well, that’s a good thing to have. My mother was very good to my father and my siblings, so there is no excuse. I also have a sister who lives in Florida. She loves to come up to our house and watch me paint.
Do you feel like it’s possible for you to have a future in art?
Oh yes! I mean, that’s really where I’ve learned to really enjoy my craft. It’s what I’ve been doing and enjoying and finding that really makes me an artist. I know there
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