About drawing and painting

I am often asked why my drawings are so "different" to my paintings. But why shouldn’t they be? Poetry and novels by the same author are clearly different mediums, or, in comparison, a composer’s piano solo is essentially different to his symphony or string quartet.

This is how my response should be understood. A drawing originates, using simple materials, as an almost direct and unambiguous reflex action to the subject. In my case it is never a precise fore-study for other work. It is the reaction to the first emotion that the subject evokes and as such stands completely alone.

The making of a painting is something else altogether. Here many different aspects are combined - memories, sometimes the history of a place, and possibly the comparison with other situations. There are many other, and sometimes complex influences, which can manifest themselves during the process of painting, but I hope it is clear that drawing and painting are completely different processes (but of equal value) for me.