Speaking, when you have something to say, is like looking. But who looks? If people could see properly, and see whole, they would all be painters. And it’s because people have no idea how to look that they hardly ever understand.

The painter’s only solid ground is the palette and colors, but as soon as the colors achieve an illusion, they are no longer judged.

What I am after is the first impression – I want to show all one sees on first entering the room – what my eye takes in at first glance.

And after drawing comes composition. A well-composed painting is half done.

It’s not a matter of painting life, it’s a matter of giving life to painting.

I am just beginning to understand what it is to paint. A painter should have two lives, one in which to learn, and one in which to practice his art.

Drawing is feeling. Color is an act of reason.

What attracted me was less art itself than the artist’s life and all that it meant for me: the idea of creativity and freedom of expression and action. I had been attracted to painting and drawing for a long time, but it was not an irresistible passion; what I wanted, at all costs, was to escape the monotony of life.

Painting has to get back to its original goal, examining the inner lives of human beings.

It's not a matter of painting life, it's a matter of giving life to painting.