Paula Rego's My London

Hannah Nathanson10 April 2012

Artist Paula Rego is addicted to EastEnders, dresses up in Sonia Rykiel and wants to sketch the passengers on the No 46 bus

Home is
In Hampstead, and I have a studio in Kentish Town.

What was the last play you saw in London?
My favourite play, apart from Shakespeare, is The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh, which I saw at the National Theatre in 2004. It bowled me over; it's full of tenderness and cruelty.

What advice would you give a tourist?
Visit The National Gallery, the Tate and Sir John Soane's Museum.

Which London shops do you rely on?
Selfridges and Liberty for clothes. For fiction, I like Daunt Books on South End Road and Foyles. I'm always looking for stories. The American author Flannery O'Connor and Jane Eyre are favourites.

What's the best meal you've had in London?
When my parents used to visit, we'd go to Wheeler's on Old Compton Street for superb octopus and squid. I now like The Wolseley and Camden Brasserie, which is friendly.

What's your earliest London memory?
Landing at London airport from Lisbon when I was 16 years old, seeing all the lights sparkling like a funfair and thinking: Now I can go to the cinema all the time and have as much ice cream as I want.' And that's exactly what I did.

What are you most afraid of?
The dark and ghosts; I've slept with the lights on since I was a little girl.

What is your guilty pleasure?
I love EastEnders; I would say I'm nearly addicted.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?
I would try to help the young addicts shooting up on my road. I find it very sad.

What's your life philosophy?
You achieve more through working than through pleasure. When you're young, you also like love but later on it's through work that you get your rewards.

What was the last album you bought?
I like listening to Rigoletto, Bing Crosby and traditional Portuguese fado music in my studio.

What are you up to at the moment?
I have a very big retrospective in Monterrey in Mexico showing all my paintings from the past 50 years. Sadly, I haven't been to see it as I'm not travelling at the moment because of my health.

Which is your favourite shopping street?
Marylebone High Street has a lovely atmosphere. I go there for clothes and a cup of decaf after I've been to Harley Street.

Who's your hero?
I respected my husband, the British painter Victor Willing, a great deal. He taught me how to devote myself to drawing and not to try to do art' but rather to tell a story.

What do you most like wearing?
For dressing up, I like YSL and Sonia Rykiel, but for working I wear trousers and longer skirts.

What are your favourite London discoveries?
The No 46 bus I catch in the morning. I love watching the different people. I don't sketch them, though, because I'm too shy.

Where's the most romantic place in London?
Kensington Gardens, where I used to meet Victor in the middle of the day.

Which are your favourite paintings in London?
The Hogarths at The National Gallery are lovely. Sometimes you look at a painting that you hadn't intended to. That's what's wonderful about galleries; you're constantly surprised.

What do you think of London's art scene?
It's extraordinary. It's changed dramatically compared to when I first arrived, when it was so provincial. I don't know anywhere else that has as fabulous an art scene as London.

If you hadn't been an artist what would you have become?
A drunk.

HANNAH NATHANSON
Paula Rego's retrospective is at the Museo
de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey in Mexico (marco.org.mx)

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