I require and enforce as non-interrupted a state of living as you can get in America right now without going off to live by yourself in the mountains.

Courage can't make you an artist, but without that courage, you won't remain one for long. First is the courage to be alone in the room where you create, and the courage to face that indefinitely, with no one to say if you are any good or not. Then, there is the courage to follow your work wherever it's going to take you. And the courage to fight for your work.

If I had the money and the drinking capacity, I'd probably live at a roulette table and let my life go to hell.

Good is not the opposite of evil, joy is the opposite of evil.

The element of obsession is terribly important for an artist.

Creativity is an innate function in a human being, as we see in tribal peoples, who spent their considerable leisure time making religious artifacts and sacred art. That is what I would call a direct culture, in that everybody in it is directly in touch with all the elements, both of the culture and of the environment.

I require and enforce as non-interrupted a state of living as you can get in America right now without going off to live by yourself in the mountains.