Luis

People often ask why I paint. The truth is, I don't think about it that much. I paint because I feel it. Why do you drink water? Because you're thirsty. I'm thirsty for painting.

When I was five or six, I remember sitting in kindergarten with a small canvas, my poster paints and my brushes. I started painting a house: two walls and a triangle for the roof. Then I looked at it and thought, "This is so ordinary." So I painted the whole thing black to be able to start again. My teacher came over and asked me what I was doing. I don't remember what happened after that, but I remember the feeling of needing to create something more interesting than just a house. The way I was thinking then is the way I think now.

As a kid I used to draw motorbikes, and all the other kids would gather around my desk asking me to draw one for them too.

During my architecture degree, I was working on a perspective drawing when one of my tutors stood beside me. I'd spent so much time drawing the people that he looked at my work and asked, "Why are you here? You should be in art school."

When I paint, I'm not thinking about anything. I'm just enjoying myself. Thinking is foolish when you're creating. You can push a little, but then you have to let go. Sometimes a painting surprises me and I think, "Where did this come from?" Inspiration finds you.

One of the paintings I really love and want to keep for myself is Shutters. I painted it during a trip to the south-west of France. It all happened in about thirty minutes. I painted it with my fingers. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't even know how I picked the colours. Although you can see the canvas, it's a blind process. That's the magic. And then... Wow! It's here!

To me, colour is like music for your eyes. Everything is energy. The waves travel to your retina, and your brain interprets the information in the same way music is waves to your ears. Colour gives me energy. It's happiness. Just being surrounded by colour is wonderful. I love it. When all the colours are together, it's like a group of friends that get along.

Colour is life.

If someone tells me they don't understand abstract art, I say, "Me neither.”