When I Paint, I Seriously Consider The

I Guess I Created Leroy Neiman. Nobody Else Told Me How To Do It. Well, I'm A Believer In The Theory That The Artist Is As Important As His Work.

It's Not The Act Of Arrogance To Draw, It's Humbling - You Must Use Your God-given Talent. And Of All The People I Sketch, In Most Cases I Feel I Have To Measure Up To The Subject.

No, I Never Had Any Dreams. The Process Of Art Is A Dream In Itself. The Artist Just Doesn't... You Work Out Something. It's Yours. You Don't Have To Go To Sleep To Do That. You Do That On The Canvas.

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.

As I Turn 91... I Have To Admit My Hours At The Easel Have Diminished.