Nick Willing

I wanted to make a film about Hugh Locke, who's an artist I absolutely admire so much.

And I started making a film about him just before the Tate, you know, the procession that he did in the Tate.

I wanted to make a film then and I started filming it.

I did interviews.

And he told me a story that when he was in art school down in the southwest, he made very realistic, intricate, painstakingly painted landscapes.

Can you believe it?

And I said, oh, what happened?

He said, well, I was visited one day by a tutor who started asking questions about my childhood.

And I said, oh, well, it's funny you should ask about my childhood because I've started to dream about my childhood.

And the tutor said, oh, that's you telling yourself to paint that.

And he said, the next day I started to become Hugh Locke.

And that visiting tutor was Paula Rago.

She only visited him once.

He tells this story so magnificently.

And I was like, wow, that's so weird because Paula always used to say, oh, no, I'm a terrible teacher.

But everybody I've met who was taught by her was inspired.

So she just had a low opinion.

She had low self-esteem, you know.

When I was a kid, I used to draw with mum.

That's how we connected, through drawing together.