57 Quotes by LeRoy Neiman

It has been difficult to hold onto many paintings but I have retained a few...

Throughout my life, cigars have played different roles for me. They fit easily and well in the various stages and experiences Ive had -- like a companion, almost. If youve smoked a long time, as I have, they become part of you.

Imagination comes of not having things.

The people who love my paintings, that respond to them the most, they're spectators, they're not viewers.

I draw all the time. Drawing is my backbone. I don't think a painter has to be able to draw, I just think that if you draw, you better draw well.

As I turn 91... I have to admit my hours at the easel have diminished.

It has been difficult to hold onto many paintings but I have retained a few. Possibly the current favorite is titled 'Big Band' completed in 2005. It measures 13 feet x 9 feet. It has 18 nearly life size recognizable portraits of the biggest jazz stars that I knew and saw perform in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, '80s and includes Wynton Marsalis.

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.

You can't take yourself too seriously.