I have a completely romantic idea about making paintings, I guess.

We need to not be scared [of muslim], but understand each other. When you're around these people, you see they have much more in common than their differences.

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.

A lot of what I do is about being in the moment and I think that's hard for people to get. I like it when things suddenly affect the painting. I mix up this red and it affects the whole painting or this little bit of white falls down there, and something changes the whole nature of the thing. The residue on what happens, that's what's in the paintings.

It's nice to see your name in print. It's interesting.

I do dream about art, and images come to me in dreams. I am definitely hoping to be in touch with my subconscious. I expect a call any minute.

I think it's good when people don't write good things about your work. I mean, what a great compliment it is to be called a charlatan.