William Quigley Quotes

'Certifiably Jonathan' contrives crises for its subject - a bid to get his paintings into MOMA, among others.

One of the expectations growing up was that I'd become a well-known artist.

When I started painting 17 years ago, I never imagined that anyone would look at my work or buy my pieces. But now I do about 14 exhibitions each year.

Artists don't compare themselves to each other based on money. Nobody really knows what money other artists have. They don't care that much. The measure is the work and how you think your work is perceived. How the museums are. How you are doing.

It's great, I guess, when your paintings are hanging up in a museum.

I think most of the people involved in any art always secretly wonder whether they are really there because they're good or there because they're lucky.

I've had so much success. I had something to say, I got to say it, people heard it, and they agreed. That's every artist's dream. That's the brass ring.

It's really empowering when, as an artist, you can visualize something and then have the final product turn out the way you wanted it to.

The art industry is a totally different world, and to be appreciated in that different world is what matters to me.

When I was setting out to be an artist, I said: If I can just produce one work that some people think is good, if I can become an obscure cult artist, that's all I want. Well, I attained that. I'm an obscure cult artist, and I think now, Why didn't I say I want to be another Picasso or something? What other options were open to me? But I was convinced I couldn't achieve great things because I don't have a steady-state mind.

An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.

I think that's why I became good at art. It was something that I could do that I could be really proud of.

One day I would like to have my own art show.

Somebody said us artists have trouble with success because art is derived from struggle. I disagree with that, because truely doing your art is success, whether you make money from it or not.

I wanted to be a star, not a gallery mascot.

The big pay-off was to work as an artist and gain some shred of respect from your friends, who were also artists. But there was never any notion that you could make a living out of art. On the rare occasions you had a gallery show, and sold a little work, well, that was just gravy.

I wanted to be acknowledged as an artist, not just some kiddie-book artist.

Art isn't held with the same high regard as it is after success. In any country, in any language, you're a loser if you're making music until you prove otherwise.

I decided to become a painter when my first four paintings where all published and attracted a great deal of interest. I exhibited one of them and it was sold.

When I had my first show at Artists Space in 1979, I imagined my life like game show. There were two doors: one door had a big dollar sign on it, and the other just had sort of a blurry picture of a newspaper - the money door or the critical response and acclaim door.

For me, to be in a place where I'm on the 'favourite' list of top directors I like, that's being number one. There is no other definition to me. It's not money; it's not how many songs you're seen in or how many clothes you're changing in the film.

Artists complain about the art world until it starts rubbing their back, then they have their love affair with it.

I have no goal to have artistic credibility.

I do indie films for the sense of fulfillment and to achieve my goals as an artist.

I believe in an artiste's life, there are two kinds of awards - first is the appreciation and good wishes he or she gets for his work from the audience and secondly, the recognition in the form of awards.