A Quote by Mickalene Thomas

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

Mickalene Thomas

Quote Topics

Art Artist Become High High School Making School Started Talent Thought True True Art True Artist

Quote Author

Mickalene Thomas
American - Artist
Born: January 28, 1971

In my teens I fancied myself an artist; I hung out with the eccentric art teacher at my high school, painted still lifes and portraits and landscapes in watercolor and acrylics, took private lessons, won some blue ribbons for my earnest renderings. My lack of talent did little to dampen my enthusiasm. In college I thought I'd continue, but, like Salieri, I quickly realized that while I had the ability to appreciate art, I wasn't actually very good.

Christina Baker Kline

I had no idea what art was. There was one art class in high school, but it didn't make a big impression on me. Then I went to college and thought I'd become a writer.

Claes Oldenburg

I never thought, "I'm going to be an artist". When I actually began to become successful in the art world I made it a point to say, 'I am a dilettante, I am not a professional artist", which is true.

Yoko Ono

You don't make art after you become an artist. You become an artist by ceaselessly making art.

Seth Godin

My sister is an artist and an interior designer. She went to high school for art. I went to high school for music.

Maira Kalman

I started playing piano with a little band in high school. I was terrible. I thought I had absolutely no talent. I couldn't keep time. I only got into McGill, which was a lousy music school, because they were taking American music students.

Burt Bacharach

I went to art high school and thought I'd be a painter. Unfortunately I didn't finish high school, but that's always been part of my work.

David LaChapelle

When I met Steve Kaufman, I thought he was Gene Simmons, but what an artist talent he is. He will be an art force in the art world to deal with.

Roy Lichtenstein

I started painting at 17; I took a class at Brentwood Art Center. I thought about art school - but I'm just so not a school person.

Carly Chaikin

I went to art school for fine art and then I started doing performance art, and then I started making fun of performance art, and it turned into comedy.

Mary Lynn Rajskub

Well, I never studied design and I went to art school to study art, you know, sculpture and things like that, and ended up making things like sculpture and started making chairs and jewelry together and that's how I started.

Marc Newson

True art means if it helps you to become silent, still, joyous; if it gives you a celebration, if it makes you dance—whether anybody participates with you or not is irrelevant. If it becomes a bridge between you and God, that is true art. If it becomes a meditation, that is true art. If you become absorbed in it, so utterly absorbed that the ego disappears, that is true art.

Rajneesh

I went to an art high school in Washington D.C., and I majored in visual art. When I started there, I was horrible - couldn't draw, couldn't sketch, couldn't do anything. I remember at one point I came to terms with the fact that I had to work my ass off to do well and that's exactly what I did. I drew and drew and drew, and it worked - I ended up getting the award for best artist and went on to apply to design school because I loved it so much. I think it really speaks to the idea that you can in fact excel at whatever you put your mind and your heart to.

Njena Reddd Foxxx

It was only when I got to high school and was in the art program that my artistic talent was recognized. The art program was directed by a wonderful and a very important person in my life - Charlotte Ranger, who was referred to as Mrs. Ranger. She had been teaching in the school for many years.

Paul Smith

In high school, I was one of the cofounders of New Kids on the Block my freshman year in high school. But I also started studying theatre in high school my freshman year as well. So throughout high school, I was actually doing both.