LeRoy Neiman Quotes & Sayings

“I had a go at changing history - maybe not all by myself - I fought at the battle of Normandy, I slogged through the Ardennes, and I celebrated the liberation of Paris on the streets with beautiful French girls throwing flowers at me. I said good-bye to my first true love and discovered what I really wanted to do with my life.”

“The businessman says 'If I don't do it first, somebody else will.' The artist says 'If I don't do it first, nobody else will.'”

“Eating is one of the great beauties in life. One of my favorite recreations... eating with friends, the service, the ambience.”

“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.”

“But 'Playboy' was liberating. I was drawn to it and went for it full throttle.”

“I always stayed in tune with my own ambitions and attitudes and I'm still my intractable old self, for better or worse.”

“The most important thing is to just do it. If I work at a higher level I have responsibility to do better than what I've done before. Sometimes the best happens - beyond possibility. Just do it. Can't worry about it.”

“'Playboy' made the good life a reality for me and made it the subject matter of my paintings - not affluence and luxury as such, but joie de vivre itself.”

“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.”

“It's a nice feeling to go out in the world and look for excellence - the best in man. My subject is very valid. It's about people, and about life.”