--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1984, I was contacted by Michael…" description: "\"In 1984, I was contacted by Michael Taylor, who had won a commission from a sponsor and decided he would like to paint a picture of me. I agreed to do ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/julian-bream-9656_art_in-1984-i-was-contacted-by-michael-taylo_10840.jpg" --- # In 1984, I was contacted by Michael Taylor, who had won a… ![“In 1984, I was contacted by Michael Taylor, who had won a commission from a sponsor and decided he would like to paint a picture of me. I agreed to do it, because I'm not unused to sitting for portraits: my father was a commercial artist and I used to model for him.” quote by Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/julian-bream-9656_art_in-1984-i-was-contacted-by-michael-taylo_10840.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/julian-bream-9656_art_in-1984-i-was-contacted-by-michael-taylo_10840.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/julian-bream-9656_art_in-1984-i-was-contacted-by-michael-taylo_10840.jpg) > “In 1984, I was contacted by Michael Taylor, who had won a commission from a sponsor and decided he would like to paint a picture of me. I agreed to do it, because I'm not unused to sitting for portraits: my father was a commercial artist and I used to model for him.” [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker recounts an early portrait commission, highlighting familiarity with being painted due to family artistic background. **In simple terms:** Recalls a portrait commission and family art ties. Key Takeaway Family exposure eases portrait sessions. Themes Artistic heritage Portraiture Commission work Family influence Personal history Mood reflective nostalgic Type personal anecdote historical note When to use this quote - artist seeking a portrait - sponsor funding art - modeling for a family member Key Concepts modeling commercial art sponsorship Practical Applications - illustrating personal narrative - documenting artistic lineage Questions to Reflect On - How does family background shape artistic confidence? - What role does sponsorship play in artistic opportunities? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-used-366602/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Paint Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-picture-251272/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) [Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits/) [Portraits Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits-father-366601/) [Sitting Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-portraits-366603/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [If you paint a picture and I paint a picture, we each want to do it our own way. And we'll stand or fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-west/if-you-paint-a-picture-and-i-paint-a-picture-we-each-want-to-do-it/) [Adam West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-west/) > [“You paint the picture of your surroundings. Paint it beautifully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-posey/you-paint-the-picture-of-your-surroundings-paint-it-beautifully/) [A.D. Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-posey/) > [I don't think you can lightly paint a picture. It's an activity I take very seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-don-t-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-picture-it-s-an-activity-i-take/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [Envision what the end result is supposed to be... what do you want to be when you grow up? Where do you see yourself?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fat-joe/envision-what-the-end-result-is-supposed-to-be-what-do-you-want-to-be/) [Fat Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fat-joe/) > [As an artist, you're used to being in the public eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kandi-burruss/as-an-artist-you-re-used-to-being-in-the-public-eye/) [Kandi Burruss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kandi-burruss/) > [“You have on your history," said the artist, "and we're not used to that, believe me. Not to history. Not to old she-wolves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/you-have-on-your-history-said-the-artist-and-we-re-not-used-to-that/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [As a street artist, I'm used to sharing my stuff with the public. It's a communal experience. I've learned not to be so precious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shepard-fairey/as-a-street-artist-i-m-used-to-sharing-my-stuff-with-the-public-it-s/) [Shepard Fairey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shepard-fairey/) > [Part of the joy of looking at art is getting in sync in some ways with the decision-making process that the artist used and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/part-of-the-joy-of-looking-at-art-is-getting-in-sync-in-some-ways/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Great artists are a little too gifted to be bound by boxes and labels, and in saying that, the label 'artist' is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/great-artists-are-a-little-too-gifted-to-be-bound-by-boxes-and-labels/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“I wasn’t a prostitute; I was an artist who used her fingers to paint a fantasy that her body fulfilled. 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But I had to learn from the '70s on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-an-artist-i-used-to-think-that-my-responsibility-was-to-do-good/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [A portrait is a picture in which there is just a tiny little something not quite right about the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-singer-sargent/a-portrait-is-a-picture-in-which-there-is-just-a-tiny-little/) [John Singer Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-singer-sargent/) > [When I paint a picture of a house, that goes back to my roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-ruscha/when-i-paint-a-picture-of-a-house-that-goes-back-to-my-roots/) [Edward Ruscha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-ruscha/) > [“A virtue never tested is no virtue at all. - Must I Paint You a Picture ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/a-virtue-never-tested-is-no-virtue-at-all-must-i-paint-you-a-picture/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) ## More by Julian Bream > [Ideally the performer has a special function. Which is to bring the listener to the edge of that experience and to open the doors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/ideally-the-performer-has-a-special-function-which-is-to-bring-the/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [A violin is tuned to a fifth. But a guitar is tuned to a fourth with a one-third middle. It is very perplexing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/a-violin-is-tuned-to-a-fifth-but-a-guitar-is-tuned-to-a-fourth-with-a/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [I'm a very bad teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/i-m-a-very-bad-teacher/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [I went to college to study the piano and cello.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/i-went-to-college-to-study-the-piano-and-cello/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [I found I could speak through the guitar. Because you have the feel of the strings with both hands and it's up against your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/i-found-i-could-speak-through-the-guitar-because-you-have-the-feel-of/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [Segovia was a Spaniard and it seemed natural that he should play the guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/segovia-was-a-spaniard-and-it-seemed-natural-that-he-should-play-the/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [Wanting to play the guitar was neither a wild dream nor a realistic ambition. It was simply inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/wanting-to-play-the-guitar-was-neither-a-wild-dream-nor-a-realistic/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [It takes a lifetime and a half to master the classical guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/it-takes-a-lifetime-and-a-half-to-master-the-classical-guitar/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [Music has been my real solace. And that's why I play music. And that's why I'm so determined, or have been so determined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/music-has-been-my-real-solace-and-that-s-why-i-play-music-and-that-s/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [The guitar is the most beautiful of all instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/the-guitar-is-the-most-beautiful-of-all-instruments/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [My father started me off on the guitar, and we learned classical guitar together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/my-father-started-me-off-on-the-guitar-and-we-learned-classical/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [The guitar speaks for me and it says things - hopefully - for everybody that I play for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/the-guitar-speaks-for-me-and-it-says-things-hopefully-for-everybody/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [You have to be serious, and you must have a constantly inquiring mind. But I find it's new music that really stretches me, both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/you-have-to-be-serious-and-you-must-have-a-constantly-inquiring-mind/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [Some specialist guitar music is not of the highest intellectual calibre, so I must make it sound as though it is. If it bores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/some-specialist-guitar-music-is-not-of-the-highest-intellectual/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [I was mostly self-taught on guitar and that had its benefits. It's a great thing to work through problems on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/i-was-mostly-self-taught-on-guitar-and-that-had-its-benefits-it-s-a/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) [Explore all 71 Julian Bream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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