Latest Paul Smith Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• I've always been a keen cyclist, I'm very close to the world of cycling. Not just cycling really - also walking, adventures, being a curious person, traveling to new countries.

  Paul Smith

  Country, Adventure, Cycling

  Source: www.highsnobiety.com

• Charles Burchfield would look at what you were working on and not say anything for several minutes. Then he would very sensitively respond - "Well, have you thought about?" or "Might you consider?" I respected that so much because I thought he was so sensitive to my work, and didn't want to offend me, but in the right way to encourage me.

  Paul Smith

  Say Anything, Looks, Want

• Charles Burchfield was exceptional. As such an accomplished artist, he had limited previous association with academia and teaching.

  Paul Smith

  Teaching, Artist, Academia

• The class situation [at Art Institute on Elmwood Avenue] was such that one would be very much on their own to paint or draw. The faculty was roving to give opinions or help out technically, which all the faculty did very well.

  Paul Smith

  Art, Class, Giving

• I'm pleased to say that it [ a paper on the history of Attica] got much recognition with a 99 grade. It was shown to the Attica Historical Society, who enthusiastically responded to it and read it at one of their annual meetings resulting in an article in the local newspaper about this excellent paper being presented. As I now look back at it, I think of that as being really my first book and did indicate that I did have interest in research.

  Paul Smith

  Book, Thinking, Being Real

• I graduated in June 1948 and then went in the fall to the art school. I stayed with my cousins on Seventeenth Street in the beginning, and later had my own apartment very near there and was able to walk to the Art Institute on Elmwood Avenue. The school had a faculty of local artists - Jeanette and Robert Blair, James Vullo who were well known in the area. It was a school that I think thrived on returning GIs, as many schools did at that time. It was a very informal program - but it was professional.

  Paul Smith

  Art, Cousin, Fall

• Jack Sturtzer, one of my cousins, had gone to art school and suggested that I might be interested in a private school called the Art Institute of Buffalo, and in fact that is what happened. So upon graduation in 1948, I then went to stay with my cousins on Seventeenth Street and enrolled in the program at the Art Institute on Elmwood Avenue.

  Paul Smith

  Art, Cousin, School

• In a social studies class I did a paper on the history of Attica, which ended up being a little book that I created.

  Paul Smith

  Book, Class, Paper

• Even today, the bigger the city, the better. That's why I live in New York.

  Paul Smith

  New York, Cities, Today

• Fortunately, I had cousins who lived in Buffalo and would often go to visit them, which I loved to do because I liked Buffalo as it was a big city. Even today, the bigger the city, the better.

  Paul Smith

  Cousin, Cities, Buffalo

• I think it was interesting that when you're in those formative years you respond to things that interest you and don't always know where they lead. But they accumulate and add up to something that enriches your later life or leads you to some new experience.

  Paul Smith

  Thinking, New Experiences, Years

• I was always kind of naïve, and really needed to be given some direction.

  Paul Smith

  Kind, Given, Needed

• It [piano lessons] wasn't a priority, but it was an interest and through that I became acquainted with classical music, which was a main interest at the time.

  Paul Smith

  Piano, Priorities, Lessons

• At one point I had dreams of being in the school band, but I didn't play an instrument that qualified me, and that was a problem. I always had fantasies to be part of that, but I did take my piano lessons quite seriously.

  Paul Smith

  Dream, School, Play

• At school there were some programs in music. I did take piano lessons, and we had a piano at home. I got very interested in that.

  Paul Smith

  Home, School, Piano

• In terms of any sacrifices at the time [of World War II], I was somewhat protected living on a small farm where there was food, different perhaps from living in a city environment. I know such things as gas rationing did exist, but it wasn't anything that interfered with my daily activity.

  Paul Smith

  War, Sacrifice, Daily Activities

• At home, the radio was a big source and the classic radio programs we would listen to like Amos and Andy and whatever other ones there were.

  Paul Smith

  Home, Radio, Classic

• I know that I was conscious of all the aspects of the war, having had cousins who were in the army, who would send me notes and memorabilia. I began to collect things that they would send me.

  Paul Smith

  Cousin, War, Army

• I learned from books that I picked up. That was something that just came out of nowhere but continued to be an attraction. So there was a continuum of my interest in the arts and involvement in creating that was strong enough that it later blossomed into much more.

  Paul Smith

  Art, Strong, Book

• Upon graduation, in the yearbook I was voted "Most likely to succeed." which I know was credited to my artistic achievements.

  Paul Smith

  Yearbook, Achievement, Succeed

• I was painting furniture, learning to stencil, and explore all kinds of traditional techniques of decoration. I learned from books that I picked up.

  Paul Smith

  Book, Furniture, Technique

• I think there were some programs but in those days art programs were kind of basic. You would do drawing and simple collage type work. But at home I was beginning to get interested in doing my own thing as well. I'm not sure what inspired this, but I became very interested in decorating things.

  Paul Smith

  Art, Home, Simple

• There's always an important person who helps support your interests and encourages you.

  Paul Smith

  Support, Important, Helping

• My parents never prevented me from doing anything, but they didn't have the knowledge of the arts that Mrs. Ranger had.

  Paul Smith

  Art, Parent, Rangers

• I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled in the arts. So that recognition I credit for my growing interest in art that continued to evolve later on.

  Paul Smith

  Teacher, Art, School