“Painting seems an old man's business. After a certain time you're out of it, and you just paint masterpieces.” MenSeemsCertainPaintingMastersPaintOld ManMasterpiece Author:Alex Katz
“You usually want to get something out of a painting other than the ideas that you had in your head.” WantIdeasPainting Author:Alex Katz
“Make a painting you can work on for a long period, and make it look like it doesn't show any effort.” LooksLongShowsEffortPaintingPeriods Author:Alex Katz
“Realist painting has to do with leaving out a lot of detail. I think my painting can be a little shocking in all that it leaves out. But what happens is that the mind fills in what's missing . . . Painting is a way of making you see what I saw.” ThinkingWayMindLittlesHappensSawsMissingPaintingLeavingDetailsShockingRealist Author:Alex Katz
“The abstract expressionists had that thing of, subject matter becomes content, content becomes form. And I always thought there was no room for style. I felt with my painting, the style really is the content. The style holds everything together.” MatterTogetherFormFeltRoomsSubjectsStylePaintingAbstractSubject Matter Author:Alex Katz
“Picasso and Matisse were the guys I wanted to get away from, and cubism is all still lifes. Their paintings are all closed drawings. And still life is a perfect form for that. By the mid-'50s, I sort of dropped the still life. The large picture was a way of getting around them, too. The abstract expressionists were also into the large form because it was a way of getting around Matisse and Picasso. Picasso can't paint big paintings. Matisse didn't bother after a certain point.” WayStillsBigsWantedFormLife IsGuyCertainPerfectPaintingPaintDrawingBotherAbstractGet AwayStill LifeCubismMatisse Author:Alex Katz
“Actually, you want to go into an area where you're frightened. Otherwise, you're just going to be repainting beautiful paintings, but a little duller each time.” WantLittlesBeautifulPaintingAreasFrightenedBeautiful Paintings Author:Alex Katz
“A New York audience generally likes decorative paintings, and decorative paintings go with the couch. If you change the couch, you change the painting. And when you're coming up, and the paintings aren't first-class decoration, you're at a disadvantage for publicity and sales.” IfsFirstsClassAudienceNew YorkPaintingLikesPublicityCouchesDisadvantagesDecorationFirst Class Author:Alex Katz
