19 Quotes by Robert Bateman

Aesthetic pleasure is not to be taken lightly; it’s very important for the spirit and therefore the health.

The most important question facing the planet is: Is it worth it?

If I ever have a conflict between art and nature, I let art win.

Art is challenging and frustrating but I don’t linger in it. I work on five paintings at a time so if I’m frustrated I put one down and begin another.

Children don’t play outside enough. For hundreds of thousands of years young people spent time outside – until 15 years ago.

A muse comes down from Mount Olympus and changes my attitude, cheering me up – it’s an inner intuition, suddenly giving a breakthrough to be able to move ahead.

I never thought that I would support myself with art – everyone in the Group of Seven had day jobs. I became a geography teacher so that I could get free field trips into the wilderness to paint.

After being an Impressionist, Cubist, and an Abstract Expressionist, I was influenced by realistic artists, including Andrew Wyeth in the late ’50s, and I haven’t changed my style since.

It doesn’t take more skill to paint hundreds of strokes rather than one right stroke but it takes more patience.