Jeffrey Brown Quotes & Sayings

“I was always most interested in drawing - most of my childhood drawings are black-and-white line work. And when I kind of abandoned comics, through college and art school, I was doing a lot of painting. But once I started doing comics again, everything else just fell by the wayside.”

“One thing I think is that comics are really good at expressing emotion. I think there's a way that comics characters can be drawn not-realistically, but the emotional reality is still very sincere. So you can have these exaggerations that express inner emotion through physical appearance.”

“My books should feel like you're getting a peek into a private world: a diary no one was meant to read. As soon as I start thinking, 'This book is going to be published,' my drawing becomes calculated and deliberate. It's one of the ways I trick myself.”

“I always try to write from memory, and I always try to use memory as an editor. So when I'm thinking of something like a relationship or whatever, then I'm letting my memory tell me what the important things were.”

“Only 10 percent of people who go to art school will still be making art in 10 years. To some extent, you have to want to do it. It's hard. It is something you really have to stick with for it to work.”

“I usually balance out autobiography with goofy, amusing stuff to help keep the humour in my more serious work.”

“I think comfort, stability, and love are the things that really let me be happy. Deep down inside I'm a little boring, I guess.”

“I've always been a 'write first' artist: the drawings are always in service of the writing.”

“When you're looking for a sketchbook, you've got to find the right paper for the pens you like to use. I like to draw on both sides of the page.”

“Write a lot and don't think about publishing - just the writing.”