Anish Kapoor Quotes

I look for characters that speak to something in me.

I write from my life, my experience. I'm selfish that way.

I decided at 15 that I didn't want to be one of those artists that gets up and sings love songs they don't mean. I decided that I was going to be me to the fullest extent, that my songs were going to reflect relationships I've had, things I've been through, and even the stuff I'm embarrassed about.

My interest lies in my self-expression - what's inside of me - not what I'm in.

I can only speak for myself and my own music, because that is what I am most familiar with, and I write about things that I am living or experiencing.

It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that's really close to me, something I've been through, it's a totally different thing.

What we are, the experiences we've had, come to the surface.

I think that some people like to be someone other than themselves when acting, while others are most themselves. I fall into the second camp. For me, acting is a great exercise in getting to the truth about myself.

As a writer, you rely on whatever makes you up as a person, whether those things are twisted and nasty or otherwise.

Definitely, there is a sense in my writing that people now know me in a personal way. And to an extent, that's true because I write about very personal things, and I use the personal often to contextualize some of these sociopolitical issues that we're dealing with. And to an extent, they're right. They know something about me.

Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is.

I never reflect or convey that which I have not experienced myself.

I've always written about things that cause me to feel something.

If I'm writing strictly for others, how does that show what I'm experiencing or thinking? I just got to a point where I realized I could be as personal as I wanted to be and people could relate to those situations if they so choose.

All my songs come from me because I only seem able to write about myself and my experiences.

Emotional messiness is my reason for life. In acting, it's so important.

You can only really sing about what you know; at least, I can.

Do stuff that is true to your own experiences.

Writing is about bringing something from inside you that you're trying to say, and not just trying to say something to please someone else.

I don't think I could write about something I've never experienced or felt; all my songs are about things I've been through.

Here's the thing: we don't write music for a universal statement; we just share our experiences. And that's all it is. It's always raw and very authentic.

A writer is rarely so well inspired as when he talks about himself.

Painting myself for others, I have painted my inward self with colors clearer than my original ones. I have no more made my book than my book has made me--a book consubstantial with its author, concerned with my own self, an integral part of my life; not concerned with some third-hand, extraneous purpose, like all other books.

I think I've always been aware of it with my music. I think growing up basically and having a lot to deal with and just slowing down and having something to say and something to retract from, I think I just knew that what I was doing was extremely honest.

All my songs are where I am.