OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMiguel was born in southern Spain and has been living in London since 2001, when he came here to complete a degree at Central St Martins College.

How did growing up in Spain affect how you paint now that you live in London?

I grew up in a very small town in Andalucia, steeped in a mixture of Roman Catholic mythology and local folklore and superstition. But I always felt like an outsider and was instinctively drawn to urban culture through American and British music, cinema and fashion. I suppose there is some reference to the austerity of the Spanish masters in my work, and the muted, earthy palate of the Andalucian countryside.

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You previously studied fashion and worked with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood – how does this affect your painting now?

My fashion experience sometimes seems like something that happened to someone else a long time ago! Perhaps the most obvious remnant is my sustained interest in the human figure. Fashion was a good foundation for understanding that form. And contemporary art should reflect the world as it looks today – which inevitably includes the way people are clothed. But my interest has deepened beyond depicting style, to exploring the character of the subject.

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What do you think your style of painting says about you?

Like everyone, I am continuously evolving, growing and striving to remain open to change. This is no doubt reflected in my style. There is a simplicity and austerity in my work which probably reflects some of my more constant character traits and values.

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The portraits appear fresh and spontaneous, is this how you paint?
I like to paint quickly without too much conceptual interference or control. I think this approach is what creates the sense of freshness and will sustain it over time.

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How long do you tend to spend on a piece?
The small portraits take about an hour and a half, and the large canvasses tend to be finished in a single working day. So generally, I work pretty fast once I start a piece. But a lot of time goes into researching and finding the subject matter or images beforehand.

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What attracts you to the faces you choose to paint?

The subjects choose me in a way! It’s an instinctive attraction.

What kind of artwork would you make if you had a warehouse of artists working for you?
I can’t imagine ever being in that kind of situation. I believe that figurative painting is a very personal process involving a lot of introspection and intuitive choices.

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Which artist, dead or alive, would you most like to exhibit alongside?
Goya.

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How would you like your work to develop?
I want to continue exploring and remain open to the new. So in a way, I want to be surprised by the way my work develops, rather than choosing a specific path of development in advance.

See more paintings from Miguel Laino