Adrian Tomine Quotes

Hank Willis Thomas is great. He's the one who "discovered" my work and saw something that I didn't see. He's still constantly pushing me to try out new ideas and not be afraid of what other people will say. He truly is a mentor, and I often ask him about the art world, how to juggle it all and not lose your mind. It would be like accepting an award without thanking him because he really has been so supportive.

A lot of artists have really been supportive over the years.

One of the perks of being a 'New Yorker' cartoonist is that you get to hang around with interesting people. My fellow cartoonists are all interesting, and all highly creative.

Mentorship is really important. I really like to talk to people who have been in the music industry much longer than me about artists' block, things I'm struggling with, or the music business. It's really important for artists to have a community. Sometimes you can feel quite isolated.

I auditioned for a movie recently, and when I went in, the producer said he'd told one of its stars, Naomi Watts, that he was auditioning me, and she'd said, 'She's so funny; she's a great actress - you should hire her.' What a lovely, kind, and supportive thing to do for another woman.

I've been a huge fan of Chris Martin forever; it'd be awesome to work with him. He's really kind, and he's been really encouraging when we've met.

I encourage people and their different points of view.

Firoz Nadiadwala is a close friend; he was the first person who asked me to direct a film for him. I would like to have him as my producer for my directorial debut.

I am of use to the younger artists through the advice and criticism which I give them.

There's a perception that if an artist produces another artist, they're going to imprint on them. But I'm the opposite.

The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.

The artist is always concerned with a total view of the world. However, when the photographer takes a picture ... the edge of his picture is just as interesting as the middle, one can only guess at the existence of a whole, and the view presented seems chosen by chance.

Film is definitely a director's medium. They're responsible for the look and everything, and you're a part of that process as an actor, and you try to contribute to the story. But I think it might sound a little pretentious for me to say I think of myself as an artist. I think of myself as a creative person.

You want to work with people who see something outside of you and that you're maybe not aware of. If someone gives you advice or tells you to do something, you want to be able to follow through with what you're asked to do, and also believe that.

My mentor said, 'Let's go do it', not 'You go do it'. How powerful when someone says, 'Let's!'

A mentor must always guide, never push. It was my job to listen to them, offer my perspective, and encourage them to pursue the ideals they believed to be true.

I'm supporting an up-and-coming director. It's the time in my life that I want to share what I know and pass it along.

Accept your teammates for what they are and inspire them to become all they can be.

The role of a leader is not to rule over other people, but to hold a space for their own genius.

It's never the same relationship. I see my job as filling in the blanks. Whatever it is that the artist lacks in the process of making a record, I'm supposed to fill that in. And sometimes it's a lot of stuff and I have to hector them about working on the material and that sort of thing. Sometimes you have an artist that's really fairly self-sufficient; they just need another ear to offer some objective criticism, but otherwise pretty much know what they're doing. It varies a lot.

I think it's really important as a creative director, to always keep your ears on the ground and always surround yourself with people who've been in the business longer than you to really think of new and creative ways to present your designs to girls.

The network was fantastic, but you get a lot of anxiety with any production. It was very helpful to have both of us because we could back each other up. As a creator, a director and a filmmaker, you often get assaulted and you lose perspective because you have all of this pressure. It was so nice to call him and say, "What do you think?"

Each photographer has their own vibe and presence that they bring to their shoots. Steven Meisel is a teacher. He teaches everyone on set something about their craft. He has an amazing way to bring out everyone's best in themselves.

If I'm talking to a photographer, I'm talking to a stylist, I'm talking to a makeup artist, we're kind of creating and collaborating and making something that is artwork and is special and is different.

Teaching and writing are separate, but serve/feed one another in so many ways. Writing travels the road inward, teaching, the road out - helping OTHERS move inward - it is an honor to be with others in the spirit of writing and encouragement.