I wanted to become an illustrator as a child.
I never wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a book illustrator. I used to hurry home from school and draw.
I was always involved in art and when I went under contract at Warner Bros. at 18, it afforded me the possibility of never having to stop painting, never having to stop taking photographs and so on, and to actually live a cultural life.
A lot of people don't know that before the artist, I wanted to be a writer and producer. That's always been a love of mine. Its easy for me to do it on myself, but it's fun to create for someone else.
I think of me being a painter eventually.
I gravitated to New York City in the late '70s to pursue a career in visual art, which is what I trained in at university.
At art college, I started to do music and then painting and drawing - and that would have been my ideal life, to be an artist and be paid for it, to be able to create stuff. I realized it was difficult, but I don't know if I had the application for it.
I think my original ambition was to be an artist.
I hope to be a writer and musician my whole life, fingers crossed.
I started writing because I wasn't getting things as an actor.
I'm working hard with more determination than ever. My success at the Salon led to my selling several paintings and since your absence I have made 800 francs; I hope, when I have contracts with more dealers, it will be better still.
A lot of people like structure, so there's definitely a risk with being an artist that a lot of people aren't really willing to take.
All I ever wanted was a successful career as an actress.
I always assumed I'd spend my life happily performing in artsy-fartsy little theaters.
I was part of the generation that pushed the Internet. In fact, I broke as an artist in the U.S.A. because of the Internet.
The idea of being a painter, I've always thought, is better than being an artist or a sculptor.
I'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the visual arts into the making of narratives if I hadn't been able to shift into fiction.
My family didn't like me going on the stage, and they didn't much like my being a writer, either.
I always knew I wanted to be a performance artist.
As I grew older, I actually was prepared to go into fine arts school and do a degree. That was what I was actually settled upon when I was offered a record deal.
Really, I've been working forever, just doing music, and then all of a sudden, out of the blue, everybody is just on it.
I went to Cal Arts. I went to art school.
My parents were always supportive. They didn't say, 'Get a real job.' They believed in the arts, and they prepared me to be skilled. I'm lucky I can drop into these worlds - into a studio or onto a set or go on stage - and feel comfortable.
I didn't go to drama school because, from the first refusal I then, as I said, a couple of weeks later, was offered a professional job, where I am immensely grateful to the journey.
It's funny... musical theater is what paid my rent and kept me going for the longest time.
