The conversations in this volume with writer and art critic Martin Gayford are punctuated by wise and witty observations from both parties on numerous other artists—Van Gogh or Vermeer, Caravaggio, Monet, Picasso—and enlivened by shrewd insights into the contrasting social and physical landscapes of California, where Hockney lived for many years, and Yorkshire, his birthplace. Some of the people he has encountered along the way—from Henri Cartier-Bresson to Billy Wilder—also make entertaining appearances in the dialogue.