157 Quotes by Chuck Close

In the 7th grade, I made a 20-foot long mural of the Lewis and Clark Trail while we were studying that in history because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to spit back the names and the dates and all that stuff on a test.

Of all the artists who emerged in the ’80s, I think perhaps Cindy Sherman is the most important.

There’s something Zen-like about the way I work – it’s like raking gravel in a Zen Buddhist garden.

Part of the joy of looking at art is getting in sync in some ways with the decision-making process that the artist used and the record that’s embedded in the work.

I have a great deal of difficulty recognizing faces, especially if I haven’t – if I’ve just met somebody, it’s hopeless.

What difference does it make whether you’re looking at a photograph or looking at a still life in front of you? You still have to look.

Inspiration is highly overrated. If you sit around and wait for the clouds to part, it’s not liable to ever happen. More often than not, work is salvation.

A photograph doesn’t gain weight or lose weight, or change from being happy to being sad. It’s frozen. You can use it, then recycle it.

Most people are good at too many things. And when you say someone is focused, more often than not what you actually mean is they’re very narrow.