John Quotes

I revise like crazy. I start revising before the pen hits the paper.

I write with a fountain pen. And then revise word by word and line by line so that the first draft of a scene is usually the tenth or so draft.

With each draft, the work gets better, and usually that means tighter. It means getting the precise word, not the approximate word.

Writing a story, you understand, is not done by consensus. But we do learn from each other, and we remind ourselves how important this work we're doing is.

As a writer you can and should expect to hear conflicting responses to your story.

I learned to love stories by listening to them.

There were the fairy tales my father told to me at bedtime. All the standards. I thought my father invented wolves.

At the heart of all good fiction and at the heart of all good gossip is the same thing: trouble.

If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.

I was always writing. I just didn't know if I was any good.

I lost my job and started painting houses with a friend. The marriage had ended about the same time the career did.

Reading is also a creative activity if you're doing it right. You can learn more from a story that's left the tracks than from a successful story.

Actually, my first literary heroes were the Romantic poets, so I began to get serious by writing poems. I have notebooks full of them that I cherish but am afraid to look at.

We have the knowledge, resources, and capabilities to make global capitalism work in a more inclusive and socially responsible manner while retaining - indeed enhancing - its economic benefits.

I'm doing what I like, why wouldn't I be happy? So what if it's not perfect, I don't believe in perfection. Maybe happy's as good as it gets.

There is no better indicators of character than the books you have.

What's that old cowboy saying? Never was a horse that couldn't be rode, never was a man who couldn't be throwed.

The paintings by Van Gough and Chagall had a big influence on me.

I realised that if I did what I wanted to do, it would work.

I paint what I see, not what a camera would see.

I use a wide selection of colours. It is impossible to produce work like mine using only the primary colours as they only mix a certain range of colour.

The lifestyle that an artist can have, the freedom to wander in the landscape with no real pressure or deadlines, was a very attractive one.

And he that will this health deny, Down among the dead men let him lie.

The majority of my work is from life. I spend most fine days from May to October painting outside.

My optimism for life carried through my work.

I used to own a dingy and can still sail one if pushed, but I like the pleasure boats.

Digital media has destroyed much of the magic and mystery of the medium.

During the winter when the weather is too poor to work outside, I do use drawings and photographs, but I change my work so it is not just a time and place study.

I decided to become a painter when my first four paintings where all published and attracted a great deal of interest. I exhibited one of them and it was sold.

I have been surrounded by artists and paintings throughout my life. My father Ted Dyer is an artist, and from a very early age I have spent time painting and drawing.

Painting is really good fun, I have always enjoyed it. As long as I paint what I want with the freedom that I enjoy, I never tire.

It's a terrible thing wishing that it can be someone else's tragedy.

My father is a well known artist, Ted Dyer, who has been painting for many years. Our work is very different, but growing up surrounded by paintings, paints, easels and art books does have an effect.

In some parts of the world there is very little tidal movement.

I was told I was talented when I applied to Falmouth School of Art and that I should consider skipping the course and proceeding directly to degree level.

I want to paint big, bright, optimistic pictures of the place I love.

I use about 20 different colours to retain the luminance in my work.

I still take photographs for my own use, personal studies. I do not feel that I can fully express my views through the medium and this is why I have moved towards painting.

I really enjoy squeezing out a big lump of paint directly onto the canvas and leaving it; fresh, immediate and sometimes shocking.

I apply paint directly from the tube and with my fingers.

I really try towork with an artist who is trying to create a long legacy of quality rather than trying to jump aboard a trend.

Punk rock and metal has always been a home to me, it's where I cut my teeth; and those are the friends that I have, and the bands that I love.

I recognize that no matter how old I get, how many records I've done, or what the public perception of me is, there are still exciting things that I haven't done.

Give your stuff away and if it's good, people will come to you.

In fact, many musicians are the happiest when the artist and audience re-interpret or re-imagine the content of the songs.

I take myself seriously and want my image to me more than just something aesthetically suited towards selling records.

It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it. It's tricky and definitely a requires striking a delicate balance.

I feel like I've gotten to the point where when I get tired of making art I can make a smooth transition into making music and vice versa. There is always something to do.

It's easy to create something that has a lot of luster, but it's very hard to make something that has a lot of depth.

Boy, am I glad there wasn't a fourth episode of Lord of the Rings.