Jean-Michel Basquiat

“Some days I can't get an idea, and I think, 'Man, I'm just washed up,' but it's just a mood.”

“The black person is the protagonist in most of my paintings. I realized that I didn't see many paintings with black people in them.”

“The more I paint the more I like everything.”

“I like kids' work more than work by real artists any day.”

“There are about 30 words around you all the time, like 'thread' or 'exit.'”

“I played a guitar with a file, and a synthesizer.”

“I thought I was going to be a bum the rest of my life.”

“I have done only two portraits: one of the artist Francesco Clemente and another of Andy Warhol.”

“My favorite Twombly is 'Apollo and the Artist,' with the big 'Apollo' written across it.”

“My basic influence had probably been Peter Max.”

“If I'm away from painting for a week, I get bored.”

“I was a cute kid.”