David Lynch:

The greatest thing my father left me was a love for cutting wood, my love for sawing, especially pine wood.

The most delicious food is far and away super-crisp, almost snapping-crisp bacon with two scrambled eggs, toasted hash browns, white toast with butter and jam, and coffee.

I have a coffee brand. But I'm not a businessman and I think my line of coffee will die the death this year. It's very hard to make a profit.

I have deep love for my Swatch watch.

I can't live without coffee, transcendental meditation, American Spirit cigarettes, a freedom to create ideas that flow and my sweet wife, Emily. And this business of just being able to work and think: It's really, really beautiful.

You don't need a special place to meditate. You can transcend anywhere in the world. The unified field is here, and there, and everywhere. Maybe if you sat on a bed of nails to do it…no, not so much comfort. Find a comfy chair, though, close your eyes and away you go!

I don't paint the town red. But when I do go out, people always want to touch my hair. It happens every time.

I first started buttoning my shirt [all the way to the top] because, for some reason, my collarbone is very sensitive. And I don't like to feel wind on my collarbone.

The best cities of all are Los Angeles and Paris. They're where I feel most comfortable.

I used to deliver The Wall Street Journal in Los Angeles. I did it to support myself while making "Eraserhead." I'd pick up my papers at 11:30 at night. I had throws that were particularly fantastic. There was one where I'd release the paper, which would soar with the speed of the car and slam into the front door of this building, triggering its lobby lights—a fantastic experience. Another one I called "The Big Whale." There was a place, the Fish Shanty, on La Cienega. A big whale's mouth was the front door you entered through. I'd throw a block before it, and hit the paper directly into the mouth.

One designer I love is [the late] Raymond Loewy. He redesigned the Coca-Cola bottle that stuck, designed the 1963 Avanti Studebaker…and his locomotives were incredibly beautiful.

I am currently working on some paintings and music. I am also trying to catch ideas for my next feature film. But I haven't caught the right ones yet.

My advice to finger-painters would be to go with your intuition: it's action and reaction. I paint with my fingers quite a bit. A brush will do a certain thing…but your finger will do a different thing.

I recently collected a toy telephone. It's from the 1940s and made of metal.

People say my films are dark. But like lightness, darkness stems from a reflection of the world. The thing is, I get these ideas that I truly fall in love with. And a good movie idea is often like a girl you're in love with, but you know she's not the kind of girl you bring home to your parents, because they sometimes hold some dark and troubling things.

Interview by Steve Garbarino

David Lynch Presents Chrysta Bell images by Douglas Neill for Mode-Moderne Journal.