I’d Rather Do That

Frank Auerback insisted that painting every day of the year is a form of indulgence rather than toil. “I’m just having fun in the studio. I’d rather do that than go to the theatre or sit about… In the same way that people play games that have an element of intractability, something like Chess, games with an infinite set of possibilities and difficulties. Or in the way that people perform a sport that doesn’t come naturally to them, or some complicated puzzles. In that way, one does this immensely difficult, immensely challenging thing in the studio, with the added bonus that if one should finish something, which is relatively rarely, one surprises oneself.

Frank Auerbach, Speaking and Painting

By Catherine Lampert