“I am very lucky that I have freedom. Freedom is the greatest treasure.” — David Hockney · Interview, various sources 1990s-2000s
“A lot of people just think of me as a landscape painter, which is quite boring.” — David Hockney · Interview, 2000s
“I think more conceptually about pictures now, in a new way, and it's much freer.” — David Hockney · Interview, 2018
“Drawing is rather like playing music: it's like an interpretation. I never directly copy things. I interpret them.” — David Hockney · Various interviews and writings
“I always think the most important thing is taste. And taste is a lot of hard work.” — David Hockney · Interview, 2011
“The moment you start thinking about being an artist, you're not really an artist anymore.” — David Hockney · Interviews and lectures, 1970s-1980s
“Art has to move you and design does not, unless it's not just design, it's art.” — David Hockney · Interview, 2006
“I realized that the camera is a tool, but it is also a way of thought.” — David Hockney · Various interviews, 1980s-1990s
“You cannot be totally sure when you're looking at something that you're seeing it clearly. You can only be sure you're going to look at it closely.” — David Hockney · Secret Knowledge lecture series, 2003