Sometimes my kids might tell me they had a dream or and maybe I'll paint some paintings from their dream. That's one good thing you get from your kids. Rob them of their dreams.

When I made my first film, Basquiat, I think one of the criticisms was that the way I work is episodic. Later, as people started to look at the movies, they started to realize that maybe that's my style. If I could do it better or another way, I guess I would.

You can't have a good bullfight without a good bull.

I don't think the meaning in my paintings comes from just using broken dishes.

The thing about living in New York is that there are other artists; that is the most difficult, I think they are the hardest critics.

There are generations of people who have never seen a big plate painting in person. And they don't know what the hell they look like, they don't know what it feels like to stand in a room with them.

I think beauty is a feeling that you get after you've had an experience. It's the way you feel about it that is beautiful.