“It is only too true that a lot of artists are mentally ill.”

Conscience is a man’s compass.

One of the hardest things to do is to paint darkness which nonetheless has light in it.

One can speak poetry just by arranging colors well, just as one can say comforting things in music.

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.

How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.

What is done in love is done well.

I am risking my life for my work, and half my reason has gone.

The only thing to do is to go one’s own way, to try one’s best, to make the thing live.

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.

It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.

How rich art is, if one can only remember what one has seen, one is never empty of thoughts or truly lonely, never alone.

Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.

I never get tired of the blue sky.

The more I become decomposed, the more sick and fragile I am, the more I become an artist.

If one hasn’t a horse, one is one’s own horse.

Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter’s soul.

The artist is a kind of prison from which the works of art escape.

A true photographer is as rare as a true poet or a true painter.

Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life’s artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist.

An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.

The artist draws the people. The whole idea is for people to dig themselves, just mingle around meeting different other people. That’s cool.

I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of. Failure brings great rewards – in the life of an artist.

The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.

That’s just a part of being an artist: you can’t write great stuff all the time, because if you did, then you’d be inhuman. The human side of people is that sometimes they fail.