Grayson Perry

“Early on, my way of teasing the art world was by playing at being accessible. Like making pottery: I thought people would buy that for Christmas presents.”

“I think of colour sense as the visual equivalent of perfect pitch. Some people can just reach into a pile of swatches and say that looks nice with that.”

“I've always gone out with women who made me laugh.”

“I think sometimes in the art world theres an implication that you need an entry-level education to walk through the door of a gallery. But you dont. The learning experience actually happens once youre in the gallery.”

“As an artist I'm very aware of what I call Picasso-napkin syndrome - I've got this 20th century version of the midas touch, where if I do a little doodle it's worth money!”

“When mobile phones came out, they were a status symbol. Now the status symbol is having someone to manage your mobile phone for you.”

“If you act as if you love someone and care about them, then before long you do care and you do love them.”

“Security and care of the objects is paramount. Arty composition comes after everything is safe from greasy fingers, humidity or excess light.”

“There are some very unsavoury aspects of art dealing that go with the unregulated nature of the market but its all part of the glamour. Glamour always has an unsavoury edge. I dont want to come across as preachy.”

“For me, earnestness is the greatest crime an Englishman can commit.”

“My tapestries are woven on a computer-controlled loom. I design them on Photoshop. I recently did some digitally-routed woodcuts because I wanted the woodcut look, but I didn't want to get the chisels out.”

“I did basic embroidery and can probably mend a sock.”

“I think Im addicted to periods of doubt and low confidence. I think you should worry if you dont have them because then youre not trying hard enough.”

“Culture is a collaborative exercise, and I think everybody will do their bit to help it grow.”

“I was once judging some prisoner art, and you wouldnt believe the number of eagles and tigers and symbols of freedom and wildness that came up. It was a really strong trope.”

“My record-keeping hasnt improved much; I recently moved house and found five pots in the loft which had been unseen since the 80s and a dozen plates from the early 90s in a cupboard under a sink!”

“You want someone in the ballpark and then you grow together. Thats what a relashionship's about: changing each other.”

“Artists have their very distinctive voices that theyve developed over a long period. It takes time to find your voice, your vocabulary of images, or whatever it is.”

“I think that democracy has a lowest common denominator thing going on, so it might be the best of a bad bunch of political systems; but as a way of making art, actually, its not always that great, because it boils everything down.”

“Mother had an affair with the milkman, who later became my stepdad and my father left. My stepdad was an angry guy and Mother was a hysterical narcissist. It was a toxic mixture and there was a lot of disruption and violent arguments in the house.”