I’ve got the public. I don’t care about the critics. I did at one time. I don’t any more. I did when I needed compliments. But if you get a lot of compliments, you don’t need a critic to tell you, ‘This should be done another way.’ LeRoy Neiman Read Quote
Boxing is my real passion. I can go to ballet, theatre, movies, or other sporting events… and nothing is like the fights to me. I’m excited by the visual beauty of it. A boxer can look so spectacular by doing a good job. LeRoy Neiman Read Quote
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 Read Quote
I played an artist in a comedy called ‘Rooster.’ It was a zany film by Glen Larson, a friend who produced several successful television series including ‘Magnum PI.’ LeRoy Neiman Read Quote
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 Read Quote
When I paint, I seriously consider the public presence of a person – the surface facade. I am less concerned with how people look when they wake up or how they act at home. A person’s public presence reflects his own efforts at image development. LeRoy Neiman Read Quote
You know what I like about San Francisco? The women are beautiful, fashionable and smart. San Francisco is one of the only cities I like to visit. I love New York and Chicago – I studied there, and L.A. has the same people as New York. LeRoy Neiman Read Quote
It’s not the act of arrogance to draw, it’s humbling – you must use your God-given talent. And of all the people I sketch, in most cases I feel I have to measure up to the subject. LeRoy Neiman Read Quote
I always stayed in tune with my own ambitions and attitudes and I’m still my intractable old self, for better or worse. LeRoy Neiman Read Quote