I read this book about David Hockney, A Chronology, a thickly illustrated book by Taschen. It is currently on sale in many bookstores.

Hockney could paint wonderfully at a young age. I sometimes mess around myself, but when I see his early paintings, I quickly throw my crap in a corner.

What I think is so great about Hockney is that he kept experimenting. He played with a photocopier and with photography, taught himself to paint with watercolors later in life, and got to work early on with a computer, iPhone, and later iPad. He made films and great set pieces and drew with pencil and charcoal.

Despite pioneering work with his photo collages, photography ultimately did not bring him the satisfaction he sought.

“The trouble with photography: it’s not real enough, not true to lived experience.”

In his experiments with photography, he bends the reality of the photograph into the reality of what has been observed.

Painting is his thing. According to Hockney, three things are essential to this: the eye, the heart, and the hand. He is a master in all three.