David Dawson

I never stopped painting, but I was enraptured by watching Lucien work and what he was doing.

So that was fascinating and brilliant.

And then a really strong friendship with Lucien grew from that over 20 years.

I love painting and I know about painting.

And then to watch someone...

who just got on with work in the studio.

He was not on the hustle for, you know, the razzmatazz of New York or, you know, the sort of art scene that is very exciting and needed.

But Lucien was really quiet and just in the studio working and making the most extraordinary paintings that had real intent of seriousness, ambition, all the things I really like about art.

He was doing it there in front of me.

That kept me there.

And, you know, we got on.

We had a brilliant time together.

Did you have time to?

So the rhythm of every day was I'd go around first thing, set up his studio, see what's needed, and then very often not go back until evening.

So I had the sort of the day for myself for painting.

And that's how it developed really.

I think it's a very rich area that painting can sit in is figuration and abstraction and how far you push it in either way.

That's exciting for me.

Yeah, and when I was a student, I was really looking at the sort of first-generation American abstract expressionists.

Art does come out of art.