There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.
Creativity takes courage.
Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.
I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.
He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back.
I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.
There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.
My curves are not crazy.
With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft.
An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language.
In love, the one who runs away is the winner.
Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.
Exactitude is not truth.
Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.
I wouldn't mind turning into a vermilion goldfish.
You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.
It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.
I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost me.
I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.
