I think you can have moderate success by copying something else but if you really want to knock it out of the park you have to do something different and take chances.

Painting from nature is not copying the object it is realizing one's sensations.

The hardest thing was learning to write. I was 13 and the only writing I had done was for Social Studies. It consisted of copying passages right out of the encyclopedia.

Hollywood and the recording industry argue that current law permits the copying of songs and movies and sharing them on the Internet. This enables young people to grow up learning how to steal.

When you put something out there into the world there's all these words you don't want to hear that you hope people don't say. I don't like anything that starts with 're' - like retro reinvent recreate - I hate that. It's always like living in the past - copying emulating.