Top 44 Quotes & Sayings by Mickalene Thomas

In my family, growing up, the women were always the ones who were powerful, and they exuded this charisma of empowerment that I hold onto and always remember. I had some difficult times, but these strong women were always a constant.

Once I made the decision to make art despite the obstacles and to make this my priority, things just opened up for me.

The first painting I remember selling was 'Panthera.' I made it while I was in residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the museum actually purchased it directly from me.

You know, the emotion - it comes in my art. The kind of person I am, I can deal with things, and I do and I can, but I'm not a crier.

When I decided to go to art school, it wasn't necessarily something I thought I needed. No one talked about graduate school when I was an undergrad. I went on to a residency at the Studio Museum in Harlem, and that transition from Yale to the Studio Museum, that was the real beginning of my professional career.

I've always enjoyed film, but I'm a little afraid of it because I think it is very powerful as a medium. You have the visuals, the sound, the colors, all of these things coming at you, and they transport you physically so it becomes this surround sound, virtual reality.

I am proud to be able to exhibit my work and inspire young people. Especially young black women so they know that they are beautiful, that they don't have to hold onto any negative stereotypes.

I'm a black American, and I'm proud to represent who and where I'm from - unapologetically. There's no shame in my game.

When I started at Pratt, Spike Lee had his 40 Acres and A Mule studios down the street. You'd see Rosie Perez walking around going to Mike's Coffee Shop. So it was this black bohemian.

There's a greater power and charisma when a woman is aware of her sexual prowess when it's not necessarily about victimization or someone else's pleasure but her own feeling about her own body and understanding and loving herself.

With photography, you've captured a moment time - it's that moment only - and in painting, you play with it; you manipulate how time is presented. It's about fantasy and illusion and the creation of desire.

I grew up with a lot of brothers, and I don't have any sisters, so for me it's really important to develop my sisterhood. It's something I've always coveted.

I've always been interested in masking, layering, dressing up and beautifying yourself and what that meant to black women. I've always wanted to make things that I haven't seen before.

I look to a lot of artists who don't focus on one medium, who you can't pigeonhole.

I define my work as a feminist act and a political act because I'm black and a woman. You don't necessarily have to claim that, but the act of making art itself is a political and feminist act when you're a woman.

I would have loved to paint Eartha Kitt, but she's no longer here. I'm so glad I had the chance to meet her.

All of my experiences modeling, acting, doing theater, it's all in the work now. And the work freed me to transform myself.

I don't see myself as a photographer. I still see the photographs and collages as a resource for the painting.

I'm really interested in women, particularly the kind of black woman who has overcome obstacles in her life and transformed.

I remember when I first saw Whoopi Goldberg doing standup, and she was wearing a sheet on her head, basically pretending to be this little white girl with long luxurious blonde hair. Everyone can relate to that. It's an oral history of black women's lives through laughter.

I don't think an artist should always know why they gravitate toward something or someone. You are just drawn to things, and that's OK.

When you look at death, it makes you understand the importance of the moment when you have life and death in front of you, and you witness seeing someone deteriorating in front of you - it's an overwhelming experience. If you don't learn from that, I don't know what else you're gonna learn.

The mirror is a powerful tool because it forces you to deal with yourself on a deeper level. Conceptually, paintings are like mirrors. They're an expression from the artist: 'This is how I view the world - I'm presenting it to you.'

I started making art with art therapy. It's what I know how to do. I got a lot of criticism for that when I was in school. But I think it works for me.

To see yourself, and for others to see you, is a form of validation. I'm interested in that very mysterious and mystical way we relate to each other in the world.

Sometimes I think it's the responsibility of the artist to reveal a little more of themselves.

I started making art during high school but thought I lacked the talent to become a true artist.

What's always intriguing to me is transforming my subjects into a character from another era.

Beauty has always been an element of discussion for black women, whether or not we were the ones having the conversation.

My artistic decision to cast my mother's objects into bronze moves beyond the notions of memorializing her. I've been fascinated for some time with the idea of monumentality and what it means to memorialize. Both of these notions are relevant historically, artistically, and culturally.

There's a great desire for people to alter themselves, but it's also the art of transformation. 'I want a bigger butt; I want bigger boobs.' The artifice interests me - how we're capable of altering ourselves. There's a creative element that's very intriguing.

I used to listen to a lot of music in my studio - all the time. But as far as the music that interplays with my work, what I've done and still do is keep a lyric book and song title. The material typically comes from Eartha Kitt, Betty Davis, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston.

What you put on your wall should be inspiration.

I knew what I was doing, but I never really considered the magnitude of how my images were transformative to people.

Beauty has always been an ?element of discussion for black women, whether or not we were the ones having the conversation?. Out of necessity, black women have always had to consider others' perceptions of a certain beauty ideal, just starting with the skin color.

I grew up with a lot of brothers and I don't have any sisters, so for me it's really important to develop my sisterhood. It's something I've always coveted.

I got really excited about finding new ways of using video, and the immediacy is different, in a way, than painting and photography. The creativity comes with the editing. You can layer and cut and paste. I really love that it's like another form of making my smaller collages but in video form.

Beauty was so heavily important in my family, something I had to contend with. All those experiences allow me to make what I'm making today. I grew up with that. There's a reason why I express that in my art. I'm trying to figure it out myself.

I love knowing and learning about people around the world displaying my art online. Also, it's how I learn about new artists that are in various parts of the world. The positive thing about Tumblr and Instagram is that they're a fantastic platform for art lovers. I also like, when I search for my art and it says, "see also or related artists," and I see those other artists that relate to me, at least according to the internet. I think it's fascinating - it's interesting to see hashtags people are using in relation to my work. It's another tool of communication.

We all have some flaws. But when I have a moment of doubt, I find inspiration from being in the moment, by letting go. I don't hold onto what I can't control. Doubt is a fleeting emotion that can destroy you if you allow it to consume your mind and spirit. Each person's time comes at variant phases, and the best you can do is enjoy what you're doing and work hard. It can't always be about you. Life is transformation - the wind blows, climate changes, birds chirp and trees burn. Where you are today is not where you will be tomorrow. The only person you can be is you.

I think what I have done is claimed the space and pushed it forward as much as I can in relationship to who I am and how I live my life.

Here I am, the artist, the person, the black woman, and the stereotype. I'm using myself and it has nothing to do with my muses or other women. It has to do with me. You see parts of my body moving, very collage like, flashing, and not speaking, just laying on a couch, looking out at the viewer.

I'm using the grid as formation. I wanted a relationship between the paintings and videos so that way when you are looking at the videos there's a direct relationship to the paintings.

Hotels are amazing spaces and platform for activism. If they placed voting booths in hotels and other space of hospitality - a lot more people would vote. Voting poll stations aren't easily accessible. These phone booths should be in more hotels and public spaces. Activism is accessibility. Bravo to the Standard for making it possible.