1. “Commonplaces never become tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious and appreciative.”

--Norman Rockwell

   2. “Eisenhower had about the most expressive face I ever painted, I guess. Just like an actor. Very mobile. When he talked, he used all the facial muscles. And he had a great, wide mouth that I liked. When he smiled, it was just like the sun came out.”

--Norman Rockwell

   3. “Everyone in those days expected that art students were wild, licentious characters. We didn't know how to be, but we sure were anxious to learn.”

--Norman Rockwell

   4. “Here in New England, the character is strong and unshakable.”

--Norman Rockwell

   5. “I learned to draw everything except glamorous women. No matter how much I tried to make them look sexy, they always ended up looking silly... or like somebody's mother.”

--Norman Rockwell

   6. “I just wanted to do something important.”

--Norman Rockwell

   7. “If a picture wasn't going very well, I'd put a puppy in it.”

--Norman Rockwell

   8. “I didn't know what to expect from a famous movie star; maybe that he'd be sort of stuck-up, you know. But not Gary Cooper. He horsed around so much... that I had a hard time painting him.”

--Norman Rockwell

   9. “If a picture wasn't going very well I'd put a puppy dog in it, always a mongrel, you know, never one of the full bred puppies. And then I'd put a bandage on its foot... I liked it when I did it, but now I'm sick of it.”

--Norman Rockwell

10. “I had a couple of million dollars' worth of... stock once. And now it's not worth much more than wallpaper. I guess I just wasn't born to be rich.”

--Norman Rockwell

11. “I'll never have enough time to paint all the pictures I'd like to.”

--Norman Rockwell

12. “I'm the oldest antique in town.”

--Norman Rockwell

13. “I paint life as I would like it to be.”

--Norman Rockwell

14. “I'm not going to be caught around here for any fool celebration. To hell with birthdays!”

--Norman Rockwell

15. “I'm tired, but proud.”

--Norman Rockwell

16. “I talk as I sketch, too, in order to keep their minds off what I'm doing so I'll get the most natural expression I can from them. Also, the talking helps to size up the subject's personality, so I can figure out better how to portray him.”

--Norman Rockwell

17. “In a democracy, art belongs to the people.”

--Norman Rockwell

18. “It wouldn't be right for me to clown around when I'm painting a president.”

--Norman Rockwell

19. “I'm still about as pigeon-toed as you can get. But I learned to manage pretty well on a bike. Should have had a bicycle then, when I was a kid, but our family didn't have the money for such luxuries. I saved up to buy one myself a few years later.”

--Norman Rockwell

20. “I work from fatigue to fatigue at my age there's only so much daylight left.”

--Norman Rockwell

21. “My best efforts were some modern things that looked like very lousy Matisse’s. Thank God I had the sense to realize they were lousy and leave Paris.”

--Norman Rockwell

22. “No man with a conscience can just bat out illustrations. He's got to put all his talent and feeling into them!”

--Norman Rockwell

23. “Right from the beginning, I always strived to capture everything I saw as completely as possible.”

--Norman Rockwell

24. “Some folks think I painted Lincoln from life, but I haven't been around that long. Not quite.”

--Norman Rockwell

25. “Some people have been kind enough to call me a fine artist. I’ve always called myself an illustrator. I’m not sure what the difference is. all I know is that whatever type of work I do, i try to give it my very best. art has been my life.”

--Norman Rockwell

26. “The view of life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be.”

--Norman Rockwell

27. “The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they're always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back.”

--Norman Rockwell

28. “The story is the first thing and the last thing.”

--Norman Rockwell

29. “The Balopticon [a machine that projects photos on canvas to trace the lines] is an evil, inartistic, habit-forming, lazy and vicious machine! It also is a useful, timesaving, practical and helpful one. I use one often-and am thoroughly ashamed of it. I hide it whenever I hear people coming.”

--Norman Rockwell

30. “The '20s ended in an era of extravagance, sort of like the one we're in now. There was a big crash, but then the country picked itself up again, and we had some great years. Those were the days when American believed in itself. I was happy and proud to be painting it.”

--Norman Rockwell

31. “The view of life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be.”

--Norman Rockwell

32. “Very interesting for an old duffer like me to try his hand at something new. If I don't do that once in a while, I might just turn into a fossil, you know!”

--Norman Rockwell

33. “When I go to farms or little towns, I am always surprised at the discontent I find. And New York, too often, has looked across the sea toward Europe. And all of us who turn our eyes away from what we have are missing life.”

--Norman Rockwell

34. “Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.”

--Norman Rockwell

35. “If you are interested in the characters you draw and understand them and love them, why, the people who see your picture are bound to feel the same way.”

--Norman Rockwell

--Norman Rockwell