Philip Pearlstein Quotes & Sayings

I try to find a compositional structure in the subject itself, in nature ... I rely on the angle where the wall meets the floor as a constant reference point, and against that I oppose the movements of the model's limbs. — Philip Pearlstein

I suggest that it is the honesty of the attempt to recreate the forms and spaces visually without artistic editing that is one of the hallmarks of realist painting. — Philip Pearlstein

Each work has to be done as intensely as possible. — Philip Pearlstein

The effort of painting from life has cost my models a great deal of physical discomfort, and cost me a great deal of money in model fees ... I have wanted to make the camera obsolete ... because, in my reading about early 20th century art, I found that the most frequently used argument made in favor of abstraction was that the camera made realist painting obsolete. — Philip Pearlstein

I get my highs from using my eyes. — Philip Pearlstein

It is what is painted between the outlines that makes the difference between merely competent painting and really meaningful art. — Philip Pearlstein

Only the mature artist who works from a model is capable of seeing the body for itself, only he has the opportunity for prolonged viewing. — Philip Pearlstein

Look slowly and hard at something subtle and small. — Philip Pearlstein

I decided that expressionism was a cheap way of getting a reaction - show anybody ripped apart, and you get sympathy. I was deliberately trying to show the human body as whole and relatively healthy. — Philip Pearlstein