I guess my desire was I always wanted to
be a painter but then it didn't come
naturally for me I think what came
naturally to me was sculpture the spot
paintings are like sculptures really
because I like sculptures of paintings
but I think conceptual art is a bit like
that when the idea is not in the
painting in itself is in the mind of the
viewer
so that is sculptural you know it's a
sculptural idea is you know I hated
conceptual out on a first came across it
and then I got into it I mean my whole
career is really a romance with painting
in a lots of ways but I mean I'm so
caught between the two
what I always used to do is I'd always
solve formal problems using color so if
I had no complicated thing going on and
just paint on top of it and put blobby
shapes and I was taught by like fifties
painters you know in the in leads so
they were kind of abstract expressionist
basically you know my paint how you feel
if you're feeling happy you do an orange
painting and if you feel inside you do a
brown and purple painting you know it
was like you know they believed that
this was the truth and I did for a while
but then I just thought this isn't the
truth you know it's nonsense really
and Tudor chemistry I said what you're
painting and I was doing these messy
paintings I said I'm expressing myself
and he goes well why you're trying to do
that because everything you do you
express yourself you should be trying
not to because you're gonna do that
anyway and so then I start thinking more
scientifically so the spot paintings
were really a scientific way to sort of
take color apart and to create a system
where I could still make those colors
decisions that I liked making where in
the end result you know it was always
gonna be the same and it was that you
know they didn't finish so then I
thought well okay a grid I want to do a
grid now but I'll do circles and then I
just said well you know how do I decide
what colors go where and how many of
each and then it just came up the idea I
said if I don't do any two colors the
same on a painting see what happens so
that was the initial thing like 24 years
ago and I've never changed that actually
the first painting I did had a black dot
on it I never did a black dot after that
because it jumps out and it looks
different to all the others from a
distance I wanted them to look machine
made like a big machine that just rolled
the paint on the wall or something you
know complicated but no artists and they
closed up when he looked at them I
wanted you to see remnants and traces of
me as a painter because but that was
like the sort of nostalgia from doing
collages and the old 50's painter but
today when it when we do them now I
really want them to feel machine made
you know totally
I made these medicine cabinets before
the spot paintings and I was trying to
find a way to title them I mean I was
always looking for ways to not make
decisions are not making motional
decisions and then I looked at never
mind the bollocks for The Sex Pistols
and there were 12 songs on it on the
back and I remember a lot right when I
do 12 medicine cabinets 12 songs one
after every song because they all seemed
really great and the similar thing
happened at the spot paintings so you
know I thought I'm gonna do these dot
paintings and then they're gonna be an
endless series I think I did a couple to
begin with called untitled and one I did
have called open to the unexpected and
then it was just I thought I can't do
this endlessly it's like naming children
or something and then I found this book
there's every drug you could buy through
this drug company called the Sigma and I
looked through it and they were just all
amazing names and I just written that's
it I'm gonna do all named after these
it's an end of series and in the
beginning I started with a and I was
gonna work through the book and probably
after two years I got barred must I'm
doing B's and C's and DS and now it's
random a lot of the times when I get
interviewed to say oh you know but
you've got a factory that makes your
paintings and I go what's wrong with
that you know I think Warhol made it
okay for eyes to make art on that scale
but you know people forget that you know
factories don't only make dog food they
make Ferraris as well and they make you
know great things so having a factory is
not a bad thing in itself I'm definitely
aware that I am the establishment now
you know so the hopefully those kids out
there we're going to tell me to off
you know in the way that I did when I
came on the scene
but I mean I put spot painting in my
younger kids room and I said you can
have anything you want in the bedroom
and he says can I not have that
you