As I turn 91... I have to admit my hours at the easel have diminished. LeRoy Neiman More Quotes by LeRoy Neiman More Quotes From LeRoy Neiman The most important thing is to just do it. If I work at a higher level I have responsibility to do better than what I've done before. Sometimes the best happens - beyond possibility. Just do it. Can't worry about it. LeRoy Neiman importantresponsibilityworry Eating is one of the great beauties in life. One of my favorite recreations... eating with friends, the service, the ambience. LeRoy Neiman beauty-of-lifemy-favoriteeating No, I never had any dreams. The process of art is a dream in itself. The artist just doesn't... you work out something. It's yours. You don't have to go to sleep to do that. You do that on the canvas. LeRoy Neiman dreamsleepart Imagination comes of not having things. LeRoy Neiman imagination It has been difficult to hold onto many paintings but I have retained a few. LeRoy Neiman sellingpaintingdifficult There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's a belief; it's a calling. If you're an artist, doing your own thing on your own, it's while you're doing it that counts. It's a process. If you get too elated, you can get too depressed. LeRoy Neiman callingspiritualart It has been difficult to hold onto many paintings but I have retained a few. Possibly the current favorite is titled 'Big Band' completed in 2005. It measures 13 feet x 9 feet. It has 18 nearly life size recognizable portraits of the biggest jazz stars that I knew and saw perform in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, '80s and includes Wynton Marsalis. LeRoy Neiman sawsstarsfeet I've met and sketched most of the great athletes from the past five decades and their movement, grace and energy have kept me captivated over the years. That's what the ancient Greeks first saw and that's what caught my interest. LeRoy Neiman athletepastyears I hold doors open for all the women. Men can open the doors for themselves. LeRoy Neiman doorsmen You can't take yourself too seriously. LeRoy Neiman humour I have always said to young artists that scholastic training and the studying of art history are crucial to fully developing as an artist. LeRoy Neiman trainingstudyart The big shock of my life was Abstract Expressionism - Pollock, de Kooning, those guys. It changed my work. I was an academically trained student, and suddenly you could pour paint, smear it on, broom it on! LeRoy Neiman paintguystudents But 'Playboy' was liberating. I was drawn to it and went for it full throttle. LeRoy Neiman liberatingthrottleplayboy It's been fun. I've had a lucky life. Art has made me pull the best out of myself. LeRoy Neiman bestmyselfmelife 'Playboy' made the good life a reality for me and made it the subject matter of my paintings - not affluence and luxury as such, but joie de vivre itself. LeRoy Neiman goodmelifereality As I turn 91 this June 8th, I have to admit my hours at the easel have diminished. LeRoy Neiman turnadmithoursjune Every time I started painting it was like a new experience, but they all came out the same. LeRoy Neiman newpaintingexperiencetime
