bottle even though the perfume stinks because the bottle lets
me write about Paris in the thirties.
As an artist, I write whether I think it’s any good or not. I
shoot movies other people may hate. I sketch bad sketches
to say, “I was in this room. I was happy. It was May and I
was meeting somebody I wanted to meet.”
As an artist, my self-respect comes from doing the work.
One performance at a time, one gig at a time, one painting at
a time. Two and a half years to make one 90-minute piece
of film. Five drafts of one play. Two years working on a
musical. Throughout it all, daily, I show up at the morning
pages and I write about my ugly curtains, my rotten haircut,
my delight in the way the light hit the trees on the morning
run.
The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.
FRANCIS BACON
The function of the creative artist consists of making
laws, not in following laws already made.
FERRUCCIO BUSONI
As an artist, I do not need to be rich but I do need to be
richly supported. I cannot allow my emotional and
intellectual life to stagnate or the work will show it. My life
will show it. My temperament will show it. If I don’t create,