1. When you were young, what job did you picture yourself having as an adult?
Teacher or vet, like most children.

2. When did you first realise you wanted to be an artist?
When I took the Maths-based baccalauréat.

3. Were you good at art at school?
Average.

4. Do you remember the first exhibition you went to?
A drawing biennial when I was in secondary school.

5. Which artist do you most admire?
David Hockney, RB Kitaj, David Salle and Sigmar Polke.

6. Which talent of theirs do you covet?
I try to achieve their freedom.

7. If you could own any one painting in history, which would it be?
One by Hieronymus Bosch.

8. What’s the best exhibition you’ve seen recently?
Edward Hopper at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel.

9. Is there one place that’s had a decisive influence on your work?
Iran, because it’s my home country and where I feel myself.

10. Where in the world would you like to spend six months making your art?
New York.

11. What subjects are you always drawn to in your work?
Portraits and people. Every face tells so many stories and I like expressing myself through the figures and portraits I draw. I set them in spaces that I create as I go along.

12. Which colour do you find yourself using in your work more frequently than others? Is there a reason why?
I love every colour! At certain times I may use one colour more than another, but not any one in particular.

13. How often do you produce a new picture, on average?
I work four days a week on my paintings, so either one or two small ones, or a big canvas in a week to ten days. There’s no hard and fast rule though; sometimes I might work on several at once.

14. What’s your studio like?
Not very tidy! There are always several paintings hanging up, some unfinished, and lots of plants because they inspire me a lot.

15. How do you relax?
Listening to the radio.

16. What’s your most treasured possession?
Hope and joy.

17. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Watching my favourite series while eating crisps, but in the studio.

18. If you could go back in time, when and where would you go?
My childhood.

19. What plans do you have to develop your art?
To exhibit in the US and all over the world so I can make progress by comparing my work to that of other artists.

20. How would you like to be remembered?
As I am.

Golnaz Afraz, Last Road, acrylic and oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm
Golnaz Afraz, Last Road, acrylic and oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm