“I’d never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spiderman.”

Fire will attract more attention than any other cry for help.

I start a picture and I finish it. I don’t think about art while I work.

I don’t think about art when I’m working. I think about life.

I wanted to be a cartoonist when I was young.

My favorite Twombly is ‘Apollo and the Artist,’ with the big ‘Apollo’ written across it.

I had a romantic feeling about how these people became famous.

The black person is the protagonist in most of my paintings.

I cross out words so you will see them more

The more I paint the more I like everything.

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

Since I was seventeen I thought I might be a star. I’d think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix…

Every single line means something.

I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I’d draw a big ram’s head, really messy.

I like kids’ work more than work by real artists any day.

I have a painting where somebody’s holding a chicken, and underneath the chicken is somebody’s head.

I don’t listen to what art critics say. I don’t know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is.