Ellsworth Kelly Quotes

Becoming an artist does not merely mean learning something, acquiring professional techniques and methods. Indeed, as someone has said, in order to write well you have to forget the grammar.

In the art world Robert Rauschenberg had been combining common materials that people thought was art and beautiful, and it was. If he could do that, I could emulate him.

As an artist, you want to play around with mediums and see if you can get the point across in different way.

I've always been somebody who, when I started a picture, never knew what the next picture would be.

Artwork is not like a commercial business; there is no such thing as a schedule for art. You can't hurry art.

I don't pick and choose subjects or settings; they pick and choose me.

Writing is like jazz. It can be learned, but it can't be taught.

I have to go with what the painting says to me. The painting is always informing me. I'm its servant; it's not mine. I'm doing what it wants.

I never know what I'm going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I'm just the middleman.

Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite - getting something down.

I enjoyed art in school. I've always done little drawings and stuff like that. I don't really know what I'm doing with the painting, but I experiment.

I never have a plan of what I am going to draw.

The task of art today is to bring chaos into order.

The artist discards all theories, both his own and those of others. He forgets everything when he is in front of his canvas.

Being creative is my idea of heaven. I'm just incredibly fortunate that I can do it in artwork. Watercolor is what I started out with. What I love about watercolor is that a lot of happy accidents occur.

I'll take anything and slap it on a canvas.

I paint according to the moment and the theme. I don't have any prejudice. Life concerns me.

We don't design by calculator or by demographics or anything like that. We really are a group of creative, sensitive people. We have our charmed little world where we get to make things. We're really lucky.

I paint a slice of life, whatever it is that day.

Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing - then a work of art may happen.

Music is supposed to be inspired.

When I put my brush to canvas, I never know what I'm going to paint. It's like when you're walking down the street with your hands in your pockets, humming a tune, you don't know what you'll be humming five minutes from now.

In using chance operations, the mind is enriched.

The music always takes us to different places. We'll just continue to play and see what doors open from there.

I think all my films have a different journey. Therefore, I take it as it comes.