It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.
— Henry David Thoreau —
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
- Lao Tzu
Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.
-Samuel Butler
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
-Albert Einstein
A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares do not obliterate the sense of the beautiful god has implanted in the human soul.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.
-Henry David Thoreau
Painting is a language which cannot be replaced by another language. I don’t know what to say about what I paint, really.
- Balthus
I am unable to make any distinction between the feeling I get from life and the way I translate that feeling into painting.
- Henri Matisse
Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, but it is simply necessary to love.
- Claude Monet
Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know how to draw well, that you have a heightened sensitivity for composition and for colors, and that you be a true poet. This last is essential.
- Wassily Kandinsky
Money is congealed energy and releasing it releases life possibilities ... Money experienced as life energy is indeed a meditation, and letting it flow out instead of hoarding it is a mode of participation in the life of others.
- Joseph Campbell
Art is the glorification of the human spirit.
Creative expression is the spiritual translation of inner concepts into forms.
Art is the agent destined to counterbalance the burdensomeness of everyday life.
Painters speak through paint, not words.
- Hans Hoffman
There is no must in art because art is free.
- Kandinsky
Creativity takes courage.
- Henri Matisse
The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.
- Vincent van Gogh
The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.
- Francis Bacon
I feel the need of attaining the maximum of intensity with the minimum of means.
- Joan Miro
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
A painter can transform the sun into a yellow spot. An artist transforms a yellow spot into the sun.
- Pablo Picasso
Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through. And be silent.
- Maulana Rumi
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world.
- Albert Einstein
Truth is above all, but higher still is true living.
- Kirpal Singh
The greatest majority of artists are throwing themselves in with life-preservers around their necks, and more often than not it is the life preserver which sinks them.
- Henry Miller
Your duty is to be; and not to be this or that.
- Ramana Marashi
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
- Goethe
The transformation that occurs when we engage the creative challenge is nothing short of miraculous.
Being complete with a painting is being complete with yourself, and that’s both an ending and a beginning.
In art, to look within is an act of courage.
To be present requires letting go of judgment.
A basic principal of the painting process work is that our inner experience is our connection to the sacred. Our direct experience is the only thing that’s real.
The artist’s task is to be released from the pressure of performance, interpretation, comparison and judgment.
The deepest essence of creativity is simply being ourselves.
True painting is very simple, yet at the same time radical. By nature it’s unpredictable, because we don’t plan our destination ahead of time.
The opportunity that the painting offers is to let down the barriers we’ve erected around our own deep listening, and to experience being at home with ourselves in the very moment of creation.
The paintings, at a certain point, jump off the page, showing us the way to a more courageous and meaningful participation in the world.
- Stewart Cubley
The essence of abstract art is:
To unfold the spirit of self-exploration by painting freely without restraint or criticism.
To develop a deeper trust in one's intuition and instinct as they happen.
To realize that letting go of set goals opens up a whole world of infinite possibilities.
- Jonas Gerard
