The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art

The painter makes real to others his innermost feelings about all that he cares for. A secret becomes known to everyone who views the picture through the intensity with which it is felt.

Painting is sometimes like those recipes where you do all manner of elaborate things to a duck, and then end up putting it on one side and only using the skin.

The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.

What do I ask of a painting? I ask it to astonish, disturb, seduce, convince.

Everything is autobiographical and everything is a portrait.

Full, saturated colours have an emotional significance I want to avoid.

The aura given out by a person or object is as much a part of them as their flesh.

It is the only point of getting up every morning: to paint, to make something good, to make something even better than before, not to give up, to compete, to be ambitious.

I've always wanted to create drama in my pictures, which is why I paint people. It's people who have brought drama to pictures from the beginning. The simplest human gestures tell stories.

I paint people, not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be.

Be resilient until you complete a task. Challenge yourself and never limit yourself. Stay humble, hopeful, patient, but never quit!

His resolve is not to seem the bravest, but to be.

Being brave doesn't mean never being afraid, you know. It means going for it anyway because you know it's the right thing to do.

We focus on what we do right, we learn from what we did wrong, we move onto the next day that's what prepares us, that's what makes us strong?

When I got the job, I was sure that I wasn't going to get the job because Tom Cruise almost got the job.

It's a Wonderful Life. This film illustrates that if you treat your customers with respect, they will recognize you and even help when you're most in need.

I don’t think I would ever have been able to be an actress had I not started at nine years old. I would have been the last person to stand up and say, ‘I’d like to star in the play.’

Nobody inspired me more than Julie Andrews, who is a classically trained soprano herself.

When you are ready to make your first hires, look for people who understand your passion, want to add to your ideas and can envision ways to make improvements.

I don't like what you're doing, but I won't insult you. Why? Because who you are tomorrow may be better than who I am today