I grew up in Shanghai 'til I was 10 or 11, with one year in Tibet. When I was 5 or 6 years old, the American radio station came to Shanghai, and I used to love bebop and jazz, but I didn't know where it came from.
It was a special thrill to meet, paint, and hang out with Ringo Starr.
I do not view myself as a psychedelic person but as a yogi. Although most link the Beatles with bringing awareness of yoga to the public, it was myself who actually brought yoga into the mainstream in the United States.
I never know what I'm going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I'm just the middleman.
I met Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin when I hung out with Michael Lang just before the Woodstock Festival. They were as charismatic in person as they were on stage.
When I put my brush to canvas, I never know what I'm going to paint. It's like when you're walking down the street with your hands in your pockets, humming a tune, you don't know what you'll be humming five minutes from now.