Damien Hirst: assistants make my spot paintings but my heart is in them all In an interview with Reuters, Hirst claimed that "every single spot painting contains my eye, my hand and my heart. I imagine you will want to say that if I don't actually paint them myself then how can my hand be there? But I controlled every aspect of them coming into being and much more than just designing them or even ordering them over the phone. And my hand is evidence in the paintings everywhere. I think it's important that they are handmade but equally important that they look machine-made. I've never had a problem with using assistants. David Hockney was quoted earlier this month as saying that the use of assistants was "insulting" to other artists. It was interpreted as a rebuke to Hirst, but the Royal Academy later issued a statement on Hockney's behalf denying that he had criticised any fellow artists. Explaining the concept behind the spot paintings, Hirst said: "Rather than think about whether a painting is important or highbrow, I tried to imagine a painting that if you left it in the street outside a busy bar, would it be still there in the morning or would someone think it looked cool enough to take home? I wanted to find a way to use colour in paintings that wasn't expressionism. I was taught by painters who believed that as an artist you paint how you feel and I believed in that for a long time. And then I lost faith in it and wanted to create a system where whatever decisions you make within a painting, the paintings end up happy. And I came up with spot paintings. Around 300 of the works have been lent to the Gagosian exhibitions by private collectors and museums. The earlier examples are the most sought after, with a 1998 spot painting fetching a record price of £1.8 million. Hirst, 46, has made a fortune from his work but said that being known as the world's wealthiest living artist "doesn't sound like something great to have on my gravestone." His forthcoming projects include "working with monkeys" on a series of primate paintings. The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011 runs until February 18 at the two London Gagosian Galleries, in Britannia Street, King's Cross, and Davies Street, Mayfair.