Tom Medwell pops by Patrick Lee‘s studio and finds the artist up to his elbows in paint, pondering the pros and cons of giant inflatable rats

What’s the idea behind your style of painting?
It’s just about trying to use the marks of paint with the least amount of marks possible, where you get something between being representation and something that is interesting in the representation itself. I try to get out as much as possible to see figurative stuff, when you see it in photos and books it always looks different, but when you see it up close you see what happens with the paint. It’s invaluable looking at stuff, you can’t replicate what you see in a book.