It’s interesting how so many of us like to read quotes. I don’t know about you, but I draw lots of inspiration, tid bits of wisdom, happiness and positivity that just makes me feel good in a very short time. Sometimes these condensed thoughts that I feel I resonate too much with, I take the liberty to either write them down in my journal or stick them in places I would frequently see, and this I believe gets reflected in my actions, as these quotes become positive affirmations of where I want my life to go and what I wish to see in myself. The quotes that I have collected over a period of time from my favourite artists are listed down below. If you like these quotes as much as I do, then I suggest you copy them and read them as often as you would like them! How about even setting them as wallpaper on your laptop, Ipad, or even your smart phone?
- Andy Warhol
DID YOU KNOW?
Andy Warhol’s real name is actually Andrew Warhola! Andy Warhol is most famous for his art work like Campbell’s soup painting. He was also famous for wearing silver wigs and opaque glasses with tiny pinholes for him to see through!
- Pablo Picasso
DID YOU KNOW?
Picasso’s father Ruiz an artist and art professor, gave him formal education in art as soon as Picasoo turned 7, but Ruiz vowed to give up art as he believed that Picasso at the age of 13 had surpassed him.
- Frida Kahlo
DID YOU KNOW?
Frida Kahlo created 143 paintings out of which 55 were self portraits. She is the queen of self portraits. In today’s age she would probably be called the greatest selfie queen! Her self portraits are often considered amongst the finest ones to be created ever. Kahlo is known to have said that “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.”
- Salvador Dali
DID YOU KNOW?
Salvador Dali was known for his larger than life way of living and also for his love for money. Within artist community he was also known as “Avida Dollars” which is an anagram of Salvador Dali and simultaneously depicts his greed for money. The most interesting fact is the way how he avoided paying restaurant bills. He would invite large groups of friends for hugely expensive lunches, then when it came time to pay, he would write cheques of the full amount, but would doodle behind the cheques, knowing that no one in their right mind would cash a cheque with an original sketch by Salvador Dali. He frequently befriended celebrities like Elvis Presley, John Lennon, David Bowie, Pablo Picasso etc. His pet cat was also a work of art, with it’s coat “painted in an op art design”.
- Banksy
DID YOU KNOW?
Banksy is one of the most elusive figures in the art world. One can’t even be sure if the quotes that Banksy has given have come directly from him or not. Even the interviewers who have had the chance to interview him can’t be sure whether they actually interviewed Banksy. Banksy strongly opposes all of mainstream art, as he believes that artists are thieves who dupe people of their precious money. In order to avert this he has always refrained from showing his work in formal art galleries and has displayed his works in places like tunnels and empty warehouses. In 2007 when a photo claimed to be that of Banksy was released, Banksy simply replied “It’s in my interest not to comment on any of the photos doing the rounds.” On success he says “There’s no way round it – commercial success is a mark of failure for a graffiti artist. We’re not supposed to be embraced in that way. When you look at how society rewards so many of the wrong people, it’s hard not to view financial reimbursement as a badge of self-serving mediocrity.”
- Vincent Van Gogh
DID YOU KNOW?
Vincent Van Gogh used a particular kind of Yellow in his works, this Yellow was the pigment popular in that period, but was chemically unstable. For instance the painting “Bedroom in Arles” makes significant use of this signature Yellow color. However, it’s initial brightness cannot be gauged by contemporary art lovers as the colors continue to fade to Brown and nothing can be done about it. Vincent’s most famous masterpiece is Starry Night and it is undoubtedly my absolute favourite! This was painted by him while he was in an asylum.
- Scott Adams
DID YOU KNOW?
Scott Adams is an American Cartoonist and the creator of the famous Dilbert Comic strip. The lead character Dilbert is an outcome of the co-workers he met over his work journey. He popularized words like “Cow-orker”, “Induhvidual” , “Confusopoly” amongst others through his art.
- Michelangelo
DID YOU KNOW?
It may surprise you to know that The Sistine Chapel was supposed to be done by Raphael who was revered as the greatest artist of that era. However, Michelangelo’s work had started to win over people from all sorts of class and culture. This led to Michelangelo eating up a lot of business that would have otherwise gone to Raphael. In order to showcase that Raphael was the better of the two, Raphael convinced Pope to hire Michelangelo. Rest is all history.
- Leonardo Da Vinci
DID YOU KNOW?
Leonardo Da Vinci was an apprentice with Verrocchio. Verrocchio and Leonardo collaborated together to work on The Baptism of Christ, as was custom at that time, where masters would apportion some work to be finished by the apprentices. The angel on the left was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. While most of the painting was done in Egg Tempera, the parts done by Leonardo were done with oil paints. Leonardo’s painting turned out to be far more superior than the master. Verrocchio never painted again after that.
- Claude Monet
DID YOU KNOW?
Monet despised Modern art. He did not find the traditional techniques interesting enough and this lack of passion eventually led to the birth of Impressionism. Above everything else, Monet loved to paint his family and most importantly his wife.
The edited version of this article was published in September 2015 and can be viewed here.
The blog of Ruchi 
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