"There are some paintings that I can mentally link to specific moments on the radio ... "
I have Radio 4 on all the time, and its content seeps into my consciousness as I am painting. There are some paintings that I can mentally link to specific moments on the radio, as whatever program was on at that moment was powerful enough to stick in my mind as being associated with a stage in the painting.
One such moment was one that affected everybody. I was mid-way through doing a painting of the Mayor of London's new headquarters on the Thames. The building was at a fascinating stage, with a swirling curved skeleton, and two concrete lift shafts rising through the middle. The date was September 11. I was transfixed by the horrors being relayed on the radio, but I painted on, as it was the only thing I could do.
It was not until the painting was finished that I realised how the role played by the two lift shafts had changed from the original intention. There was nothing deliberate about this. The radio in my ear had influenced my hand, without intervention from my consciousness.
