Interview for Associated Press

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CAMPBELL: Do you have any spur to motivation to paint?

PAUL: People who paint, including myself, get to a point where a bit of angst comes in. If you’re doing it for a living, it’s worth it to suffer those slings and arrows. If I was going to paint for my own fun, that was one thing I had to avoid.

I invented these characters. One of them is Luigi. If I get to a point in a painting where I’m getting stuck, I imagine Luigi has a restaurant with a little alcove. He’s a good friend of mine. He’s always saying, ‘Paint a picture for the alcove.’ When things get tough, I say, ‘This is for Luigi. He’ll like this.’ I don’t fret it. Lo and behold, five minutes later, I’m at a new point in the painting and I got through the bad patch.

Or, if I’m getting a bit stuck, I become Mr. Blendini. He enjoys blending colors. He can spend hours doing that. I’ve got Luigi and Blendini. Everyone needs friends like that. Luigi accepts everything I do. He loves it.

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