black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Color is crucial in painting, but it is very hard to talk about.

Roy Lichtenstein

My work isn’t about form. It’s about seeing. I’m excited about seeing things, and I’m interested in the way I think other people see things.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Interest People See Thing Thinking Vision Work
Yes, you know sometimes, we started out thinking out how strange our painting was next to normal painting, which was anything expressionist.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Anything Expressionist Next Normal Oddities Painting Sometimes Strange Think Thinking Year
People mistake the character of line for the character of art. But it’s really the position of line that’s important, or the position of anything, any contrast, not the character of it.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Anything Character Contrast Important Line People Position
You know, as you compose music, you’re just off in your own world.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Compose Ideas Just Music Own Reality Thinking World
All my art is in some way about other art, even if the other art is cartoons.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Art Cartoon Even Some Way
I don’t really know what to make of it. There’s something terribly brittle about it. I suppose I would still prefer to sit under a tree with a picnic basket rather than under a gas pump, but signs and comic strips are interesting as subject matter.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Basket Interest Make Matter Picnic Prefer Something Strip Subject Suppose Terribly
Painting stems from a sense of organisation, the sensed positions of contrasts. Not that it is about this.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Contrast Organisation Painting Position Stem
As long as the marks are related to one another, there is unity. Unity in the work itself depends on unity of the artist’s vision.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Another Artist Depend Itself Long Mark Relate Unity Vision
There must be something about art… almost all cultures have done art. It’s a refining of the senses, which are there to keep us alive. As far as we know, no other animals do that.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Alive Animal Art Culture Keep Look Refining Sense Something
Im not really sure what social message my art carries, if any.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Art Carries Message Our Really Social Sure Trying World
Color is crucial in painting, but it is very hard to talk about.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Color Crucial Hard Paint Talk
Personally, I feel that in my own work I wanted to look programmed or impersonal but I don’t really believe I am being impersonal when I do it. And I don’t think you could do this.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Believe Belive Feel Impersonal Impression Look Own Personally Programme Thinking Wanted Work
I dont have big anxieties. I wish I did. Id be much more interesting.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Anxiety Art Interest Interesting More Much
My direction is very anti-contemplative. If you thought I was for commercial products, you’d think there was no irony. The irony isn’t meant to be an ironic comment on our society, exactly.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Anti Commercial Contemplative Direction Ironic Irony Product Think Thinking
The big tradition, I think, is unity. And I have that in mind; and with that, you know, you could break all the traditions- all the other so-called rules, because they are stylistic.. and most are not true.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Artist Big Break Know Long Mind Thinking Tradition
Everybody knows that abstract art can be art, and most people know that they may not like it, even if they understand there’s another purpose to it.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Abstract Another Art Even Everybody Know Most People Purpose Understand
I kind of do the drawing with the painting in mind, but it’s very hard to guess at a size or a color and the colors around it and what it will really look like. It’s only a guess at the beginning, and then I try to refine it.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Around Beginning Color Draw Four Guess Kind Mind Painting Refine
There are certain things that are usable, forceful, and vital about commercial art. We’re using those things – but we’re not really advocating stupidity, international teenagerism, and terrorism.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Advocating Certain Commercial Forceful International Teenagerism Really Stupidity Terrorism Thing Usable Vital
And I dont really want it to carry one. Im not interested in the subject matter to try to teach society anything, or to try to better our world in any way.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Anything Better Carry Interested Matter Really Society Subject Teach Want Way
Yeah, you know, you like it to come on like gangbusters, but you get into passages that are very interesting and subtle, and sometimes your original intent changes quite a bit.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Change Come Gangbuster Interest Interesting Passage Sometimes Subtitle
I’d always wanted to know the difference between a mark that was art and one that wasn’t.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Always Art Difference Drawing Mark One Want
I think art since Cezanne has become extremely romantic and unrealistic, feeding on art. It is Utopian. It has less and less to do with the world. It looks inward – neo-Zen and all that. Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Country Extremely Feeding Look Painting Person Romantic Since Something Unrealistic World
I think the meaning of my work is that it is industrial, it’s what all the world will soon become. Europe will be the same way, soon, it won’t be American; it will be universal.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Become Country Industrial Mena Same Soon Think Universal Way Work
I don’t think that I’m over his influence but they probably don’t look like Picassos; Picasso himself would probably have thrown up looking at my pictures.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Influence Look Probably Thinking
But usually I begin things through a drawing, so a lot of things are worked out in the drawing. But even then, I still allow for and want to make changes.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Change Draw Drawing Making Out Think Usually Want Work
I take a cliche and try to organize its forms to make it monumental. The difference is often not great, but it is crucial.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Cliche Differences Form Make Monument Organize Trying
Art doesn’t transform. It just plain forms.
ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Art Creative Education Form Plain Transform

Color is crucial in painting, but it is very hard to talk about.

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Color is crucial in painting, but it is very hard to talk about.

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