AUGUST 3 2019 LISTENER 45
which he would paint 40 or 50 pictures;
then he would have a long period devoid
of painting. I asked if these arid periods
worried him.
“You’re damn right, of course they
worry me. I start to think there won’t be
any more paintings, that I’ve got nothing
left ... But then it will start again, for no
apparent reason, except perhaps Anne
hanging out the washing ...” He laughed
at that idea.
Was he in a painting period at the
moment? He said that he was, and that
really I was interrupting him. I said, “You
should have told me not to come.” But
Anne said that he’d been interrupted
anyway, as they had had relatives visiting.
He went on to say that he thought aHe said that he wasn’t a
Catholic, though he would
have liked to be one. I
asked him to explain, but
he just said: “They didn’t
consider that I was a
suitable person.”