I have painted enough to have a lot of respect for mediocre painters. It's really hard.

A lot of writers and artists are like chefs who eat their own cooking in the kitchen and then deliver an empty plate with assurances that it's great.

For Rembrandt, reality is role-playing.... Everyone is portrayed in relation to a social hierarchy.

Beauty makes us more like ourselves and more like each other.

There's art that I would readily buy if I could afford it, and enjoy, but would never write about because it doesn't seem significant.

I can do pretty good work in various short forms, but anything over 1400 words, I'd be of no use. I like to say I'm a river navigator. I need to see the shore behind the shore.

The problem of making artists talk about their work is that when they're making their work the left-brain is shut off. So if you talk to an artist about it, you're talking to someone who wasn't there. It's hopeless.