There’s no way to really preserve a person when they’ve gone and that’s because whatever you write down it’s not the truth, it’s just a story. Stories are all we’re ever left with in our head or on paper: clever narratives put together from selected facts, legends, well edited tall tales with us in the starring roles.
From The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
The power of a painting has to come from the inside out, not the outside in. It’s not just an image; it’s an image with a body, and that body has to contain its spirit. A painting, really, is made by its reason for being there. What’s behind it decides everything, It’s not just a question of attractiveness or correctness; it can’t be fixed afterwards or by additions. How it starts will define how it ends. So it’s the weight of the intention that defines everything.
–Sean Scully
We are what we are and we paint what we want, and when we lose sight of this we sell our souls. We need to aim for quality in whatever genre or style currently attracts us. There are craters in the old not-so-level playing field, but we artists need to carry the ball energetically as if our personal concept of quality will always be in style. “There is no such thing as ‘on the way out’ as long as you are doing something interesting.” (Louis Armstrong)
–Giacomo Casanova