More Q&A from My Cross Stitch Collection Interview

Here are a couple more of the very interesting and compelling questions I was asked recently by Cross Stitch Collection, the leading needlecraft publication in the UK. Whenever I'm interviewed, I can normally anticipate the questions I'll be asked, but these were very interesting and fun to answer.

On a Desert Island, you’re allowed six items to help you keep painting to keep you busy/sane, what are they?
Naturally my wife Nanette would the first item on the list, if people can be included. She has always been my primary source of inspiration and strength. She has also been my model many times – especially when I was too poor to hire one. The next thing I would need would be a good umbrella, because there is nothing worse than painting with the sun shining directly in your eyes. A box of paints is mandatory, and hopefully that would only count as a single item. A sketchbook provides a good notation tool to get ideas down quickly, and a bible can keep you spiritually inspired. For canvas I could always use the sand on the beach, which would keep changing daily to allow for a new subject. I suppose the final item needed to guarantee happiness would be a large bottle of Tabasco sauce. To me, raw oysters are intolerable without a dash of spice.

In your opinion who’s the most important person in the art world and why?
I always believe that the average working person is far more important than the most educated self-proclaimed art critic. I have had the good fortune to sell paintings to millions of people who had never bought a piece of art before, and I am proud that my paintings spark their emotions this strongly. Not only is this flattering, it reminds me that the real goal of art is to provide inspiration and pleasure to real people, not just an educated elite.