Hockney's L.A. hiatus

David Hockney, who moved to Los Angeles from England in 1964 and is as associated with L.A. as almost any artist, has been living back in Yorkshire with his longtime partner, John Fitzherbert, since 2005. Hockney has a 10,000-square-foot studio to paint in, a luxury he never enjoyed here, and family nearby. Despite plans for a big show of his work in London in 2012, Hockney tells the New York Times that he has not finished with L.A.

Yet he also has no intention of giving up California. He still has his house in the Hollywood Hills, he said, not to mention his office and archives on Santa Monica Boulevard and his green card.

“I would say I’m on location here,” he said, laughing wryly. “That’s what we say in Hollywood.”

Hockney, now 72 and growing more deaf, is still painting but also making a lot of his art these days on his iPhone and using Photoshop.

Updated: The real reason that Hockey lives in England, left unsaid by the NYT, is that the U.S. won't let his lover in the country, says Tyler Green.

Photo of Hockney: Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima / New York Times