Examining David Hockney's portraits in all media - painting, drawing, photocollage and prints - this book illustrates not only the range and innovation of his creative practice but also the circular nature of his subjects and artistic preoccupations.

Picking up Hockney's story in 1975, this volume finds him flitting between Notting Hill and California, where he took inspiration for the swimming pool series of paintings; creating the acclaimed set designs for operas around the world; and embracing emerging technologies - the camera and fax machine in the 1970s and 80s, and most recently the iPad.

A record of a decade of private conversations with art critic Martin Gayford, David Hockney reveals via reflection, anecdote, passion and humour the fruits of his lifelong meditations on the problems and paradoxes of representing a three-dimensional world on a flat surface.