Lucian Freud — British Artist born on December 08, 1922, died on July 20, 2011

Lucian Michael Freud OM CH was a German-born British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impastoed portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time. His works are noted for their psychological penetration and their often discomforting examination of the relationship between artist and model... (wikipedia)

Full, saturated colours have an emotional significance I want to avoid.
The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.
As far as I am concerned the paint is the person. I want it to work for me just as flesh does.
The aura given out by a person or object is as much a part of them as their flesh.
I remember Francis Bacon would say that he felt he was giving art what he thought it previously lacked. With me, it's what Yeats called the fascination with what's difficult. I'm only trying to do what I can't do.