“When a person speculates about my identity, it reveals something about their own background and preferences. If the canvas is blank; the only thing people can see on its surface is themselves.”

“Not much about California, on its own preferred terms, has encouraged its children to see themselves as connected to one another.”

“Just slap anything on when you see a blank canvas staring you in the face like some imbecile. You don't know how paralyzing that is, that stare of a blank canvas is, which says to the painter, ‘You can't do a thing’. The canvas has an idiotic stare and mesmerizes some painters so much that they turn into idiots themselves. Many painters are afraid in front of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real, passionate painter who dares and who has broken the spell of `you can't' once and for all.”

“Fear is a ... it's a weird thing, when you think about it. People are only afraid of other things, they're never afraid of themselves.”

“One thing you'll learn as you get older, Simon, is that when people tell you something unpleasant about themselves, it's usually true.”

“A blank canvas is so abstract that only imagination can fill it. But wait! Don't hang it on the wall like that. It's upside down.”