Jean-Michel Basquiat Quotes

I believe, I believe every day is a good day when you paint.

When you are older, you realise that everything else is just nothing compared to painting and drawing.

Painting, for me, is a dynamic balance and wholeness of life; it is mysterious and transcending, yet solid and real.

Don't be an art critic. Paint. There lies salvation.

I'm compelled to paint nearly every day. I just felt like making a painting, went out and bought paints and a canvas. Now it fulfills me creatively when I'm not doing music: it's something you can do by yourself and it's totally yours. It's a great adjunct to my life.

Get into your own creativity. Sketch and paint with different mediums and follow your heart.

As an artist, you find at different times you want to do different things.

What is important is satiating my creativity as an artiste.

Being an artist is celebrating life.

I regret not starting to paint earlier...It is one of the few things I do regret.

There's only one reason for my whole life, and that's art. Nothing else counts; nothing else gives me pleasure; nothing else gives me satisfaction.

My first artistic love was drawing and painting.

It is not about writing those hits again. I am sure I could write them, but it is about the sensibilities.

In a lot of the art world, you have to present yourself as you know what you're doing at a young age. Music gave me another outlet. The 'no wave' bands were such an inspiration; it felt so free - once you start doing it, it's hard to stop. But I can't get away from art. It comes back around. I wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't pursue it.

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.

The only thing in life that really gives me any peace is just being lost in the process of creating something, whether it's the film or painting and drawing, which has been a big part of my life, for a long time.

I want to create a thousand paintings, maybe two thousand paintings, as many as I can draw.

When I paint, I definitely live in the present, like someone in a shower whistling or singing.

Throughout the time in which I am working on a canvas I can feel how I am beginning to love it, with that love which is born of slow comprehension.

I don't know what a painting is; who knows what sets off even the desire to paint? It might be things, thoughts, a memory, sensations, which have nothing to do directly with painting itself. They can come from anything and anywhere.

The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.

I believe the right question to ask, respecting all ornament, is simply this; was it done with enjoyment, was the carver happy while he was about it?

I'm not an Expressionist. I love to look at de Kooning, but I've got this kind of secret life, and that is something that pleases me. I have to try and make something out of it.

Making art has never been a mystery to me. It's never been something that's very difficult.

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.