 Bacon said that chance played a significant role in his work , and that he often approached a canvas without having a clear idea of what might emerge . This was especially the case in the mid to late 1940s , a period when he was drinking heavily and spending most nights in Soho casinos and poker rooms . The following morning he would often approach his canvas " in a bad mood of drinking ... under tremendous hangovers and drink ; I sometimes hardly knew what I was doing . " He incorporated his appetite for chance into his work : an image often would morph mid @-@ way through into something quite different from what he had first intended . He actively sought out this freedom and felt it crucial to his progression as an artist . To him , lifestyle and art were intertwined ; he said that " perhaps the drink helped me to be a bit freer . " This is very evident in the 1949 series , which began as a rather morbid study of a collapsed head , but evolved over the six surviving panels into a reworking of Velázquez masterpieces , and arrived at an image that was to preoccupy Bacon for the subsequent 20 years . 
 Bacon said that chance played a significant role in his work , and that he often approached a canvas without having a clear idea of what might emerge . This was especially the case in the mid to late 1940s , a period when he was drinking heavily and spending most nights in Soho casinos and poker rooms . The following morning he would often approach his canvas " in a bad mood of drinking ... under tremendous hangovers and drink ; I sometimes hardly knew what I was doing . " He incorporated his appetite for chance into his work : an image often would morph mid @-@ way through into something quite different from what he <a href='been_done' title='1'><mark>had</mark></a> first intended . He actively sought out this freedom and felt it crucial to his progression as an artist . To him , lifestyle and art <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>were</mark></a> intertwined ; he said that " perhaps the drink helped me to be a bit freer . " This <a href='drop_aux' title='3'><mark>is</mark></a>very evident in the 1949 series , which began as a rather morbid study of a collapsed head , but evolved over the six surviving panels into a reworking of Velázquez masterpieces , and arrived at an image <a href='null_relcl' title='4'><mark>that</mark></a>was to preoccupy Bacon for the subsequent 20 years . 
Bacon said that chance played a significant role in his wrk , and dat he often approached a canvas without havin a clear idea of wht mite emerge . This was especially the case in da mid to late 1940s , a period when he was drinking heavily and spending most nights in Soho casinos and poker rooms . Tdafollowing morning he would often approach his canvas " in a bad mood of drinking ... under tremendous hangovers and drink ; I sometimes hardly knew what I was doing . " He incorporated his appetite fa chance into his wwrk: an image often would morph mid @-@ way through into sumin quite different from what he done first intended . He actively sought out this freedom and felt it crucial to his progression as an artist . To him , lifestyle and art was intertwined ; he said that " perhaps thdarink helped me to b a bit freer . " This very evident in the 1949 series , which began as a rather morbid study of a collapsed head , but evolved ova thedax surviving panels into a reworking of Velázquez masterpieces , and arrived at an image was to preoccupy Bacon ffirthe subsequent 20 yrs .