Still from "TateShots: Alex Katz" (Courtesy TateShots)

On the occasion of his newly opened exhibition at Tate St. Ives that shows British and international modern and contemporary art, New York-based painter Alex Katz led curator Martin Clark around his studio for the latest TateShots video, "Alex Katz." The artist shows 30 canvases, from the early work up to the present, reminisced about his school days at Cooper Union in the 50s when Jackson Pollock "hit" and "New York changed completely." In the video, he also shows some of his early work, expatiating on his painting ("Style is the content of my paintings") and painting in general ("Paintings are like wine—sometimes it travels, and sometimes it doesn't").

We also get a glimpse of a new work by Mr. Katz entitled Late Summer Flowers, a giant canvas with flowers in yellow, orange and red. "Most painters when they get older," says the 84-year old artist, "they get worse.... This is my stab at saying I got better."

Mr. Katz in his loft. (Courtesy Architectural Digest)

What does Alex Katz's Soho loft look like? Architectural Digest went to the  figurative painter's home and brought back the answers. White walls, mostly. High ceilings. Unbelievable spaciousness. A vintage scroll-arm sofa. And plenty of Mr. Katz's own sprawling colorful canvases, including a new double portrait.

We wouldn't expect Mr. Katz (whom The Observer profiled in October) to create his masterful works in anything less than a palatial light-filled studio. Nor were we that surprised that Mr. Katz takes pensive breaks with a certain relaxed elegance: we saw his J. Crew spread in 2009.

The artist has a Picabia portrait in his kitchen and a de Kooning nestled in between his oils and his works painted on cut aluminum—which made us recall a 2006 video in which he says that he aimed to create work that, when placed beside a de Kooning, would "really give it a bounce." He's a master of the bounce. In the same video he declares, "A little painting of mine next to someone else's painting will usually destroy it."

Also, it appears that he drinks tons of Medaglia D'Oro Italian espresso, judging by the cans in which he places his brushes.