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Artist David Hockney's view on smoking ban

WORLD-FAMOUS artist David Hockney has spoken out about the smoking ban ?€“ claiming that alcohol is much worse. Hockney, who is now widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, has always been renowned for having outspoken opinions about the world and this time East Riding pubs were the topic of discussion when he paid a return visit to Bridlington.

He said: "I have smoked for 54 years."

"They will never get rid of it and the pubs should close too because alcohol is worse.

"The pubs should all close and be turned into gyms with everybody on running machines!

"People shouldn't be drinking and smoking and having a chat! Tell them that at Beverley.

"Mind you, if all the pubs closed, you wouldn't get many people coming to Bridlington!" he added.

Hockeny's comments came as he attended Bridlington Lifeboat Station to present one of his books to the highest bidder in a charity auction held to raise funds for the town's lifeboat.

The playboy of the art scene has made no secret of his love for East Yorkshire, Bridlington and the Wolds, with the landscape at Warter, near Driffield, providing the inspiration for the biggest painting he has ever created.

Bigger Trees at Warter, a 40ft by 15ft painting made up of a grid of 50 smaller canvasses, was officially unveiled as part of the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition in 2007.

But Hockney is not so keen on the idea of trees becoming part of the Bridlington townscape and he made his views quite clear during a recent visit to the town.

"Whoever wants to put the trees in Pembroke Gardens clearly doesn't live in Bridlington," he said of the town's Spa Environs plan.

"It's just wrong. That's the problem when decisions aren't made in the town but by people who have never even been here," he added.

The artist also mused about the time it took to complete the Bridlington Spa refurbishment.

"When it was built in 1907 they managed to do the lot in one year but this time they took three years. How does that work?" he said.

"I assume it was because it actually had some owners back then, somebody who wanted to make money out of it so got it all done in a year.

"I don't think it has an owner now so it takes three years."

Hockney may well be a Bridlington resident but admitted he likes to keep out of the way of the general public because "there are too many mean-spirited people about".