David Hockney says his painting has improved with onset of hearing loss

David Hockney said his hearing loss has helped sharpen his painting, giving him an enhanced sense of space and perspective.
Renowned British painter David Hockney poses during the unveiling of a huge painting he is donating to the Pompidou Center in Paris, "The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire.", in Paris, France. Picture: AP photo/Francois Mori.Renowned British painter David Hockney poses during the unveiling of a huge painting he is donating to the Pompidou Center in Paris, "The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire.", in Paris, France. Picture: AP photo/Francois Mori.
Renowned British painter David Hockney poses during the unveiling of a huge painting he is donating to the Pompidou Center in Paris, "The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire.", in Paris, France. Picture: AP photo/Francois Mori.

Speaking on Tuesday at a retrospective of his work at Paris' Pompidou Centre, Bradford-born Hockney said: "If you lose one sense, you gain other senses, and I feel I could see space clearer.

"I put it down to the hearing loss. ... I can't tell what sound is coming from where."

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The 80-year-old artist said he is currently working on reverse perspective paintings.

Hockney donated a huge work to the Pompidou Centre, The Arrival Of Spring In Woldgate, East Yorkshire, that is part of the travelling retrospective opening in Paris this week.

Hockney's depictions of Los Angeles swimming pools and wooded Yorkshire hills are among the best-known images in contemporary art.