Painting is always strongest when in spite of composition, color, etc., it appears as a fact, or an inevitability, as opposed to a souvenir or arrangement.

There is no reason not to consider the world as one gigantic painting.

You begin with the possibilities of the material.

I don't really trust ideas - especially good ones... Rather, I put my trust in the materials that confront me, because they put me in touch with the unknown.

The only thing that I could get with chance, and I never was able to use it, was that I would end up with something quite geometric or the spirit that I was interested in, indulging in, was gone.

It is neither Art for Art, nor Art against Art. I am for Art, but for Art that has nothing to do with Art. Art has everything to do with life, but it has nothing to do with Art.

I've not been cursed with talent, which could be a great inhibitor.

An empty canvas is full.

The artist's job is to be a witness to his time in history.

I don't think of myself as making art. I do what I do because I want to, because painting is the best way I've found to get along with myself.

Even at this late date, I go into my studio, and I think 'Is this going to be it? Is it the end?' You see, nearly everything terrorizes me. When an artist loses that terror, he's through.

Nothing seems to tempt fate more than mentioning the possibility of something bad happening.

You teach me, I forget. You show me, I remember. You involve me, I understand.

CRITIC OR CITRIC?Anagram of ordinary passing judgement on talentedKamil Ali

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds.

The same things are best both for individuals and for states, and these are the things which the legislator ought to implant in the minds of his citizens.

Meditation is a way of slowing down so as to descend into the depths of yourself in the present moment, where God lies waiting to grant you a deep experience of your eternal oneness with God.

Saintliness is also a temptation.

[On dishonesty:] If there were a cry of 'stop thief!' we would all stand still.

The man who bows before the ruler, shows his behind to the courtiers

I guess my mantra is you have to work really hard if you want something. You have to be committed to hard work and persistence even when it gets tough.