Drum & bass icon Goldie chatted to Skrufff this week about his upcoming London art gallery exhibition and revealed that he considers painting to be simply the latest manifestation of his ever-expanding artistic career.

“It’s very easy for people to splash a few colours on a canvas and go ‘hey, I’m an artist’, but I come from the old school,” said Goldie.

“When someone says to me ‘how do you describe yourself?’ I say to them, look at it like this; ‘people looking at me will say ‘Goldie’s walking in a straight line’, but if you look very carefully I’m actually walking on a slight left curvature because I’m walking in a very big circle. Because in my life as each seven years period passes, I get a little closer to myself and the circle becomes a little more complete and the moment when it becomes complete is probably the moment when I leave this place,” he mused. “I’m trying to make that circle without cutting corners; I have that integrity and that’s all I care about.”

Love Over Gold features 27 of Goldie’s paintings of semi-naked women in erotic poses inspired by prostitutes’ calling cards in London phone boxes ‘that radiate with life – exposing a primal human truth – our modern condition’ according to th exhibition’s accompanying press blurb though Goldie stressed his ideas are instinctive.

“I don’t know how to explain what I do, I’ve had the same experience with music over the last 20 years. When I put a paint brush down I don’t stop painting and when I leave a studio I don’t stop making music in my head,” he said.

“As far as I’m concerned I’m an artist whether I like it or not. I actually don’t like being an artist but the bottom line is I have no f**king choice. If I could switch the power off sometimes I would but I can’t. I’ve managed to do things with my art and I’m very happy about that but it is a torment as well. Doing pictures of women as a subject matter is something I’ve done because I enjoy doing it,” he explained.

“Love Over Gold” opens at the Leonard Street Gallery, London on the 6th September 2007.