“The real subject of every painting is light.”

I waited for the idea to consolidate, for the grouping and composition of themes to settle themselves in my brain.

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.

Impressionism is only direct sensation. All great painters were less or more impressionists. It is mainly a question of instinct, and much simpler than [John Singer] Sargent thinks.

I still don’t know where I am going to sleep tomorrow.

When I look at nature I feel as if I’ll be able to paint it all, note it all down, and then you might as well forget it once you’re working.

Without the fog, London would not be a beautiful city. It is fog that gives it its magnificent amplitude its regular and massive blocks become grandiose in that mysterious mantle.

It took me time to understand my water lilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them.

I would like to paint the way a bird sings.

For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at any moment.

My work is always better when I am alone and follow my own impressions.

When I work I forget all the rest.

Nature won’t be summoned to order and won’t be kept waiting. It must be caught, well caught.

I am very depressed and deeply disgusted with painting. It is really a continual torture.

I say that whoever claims to have finished a canvas is terribly arrogant.

I will bring lots of studies back with me so I can work on some big things at home.

While adding the finishing touches to a painting might appear insignificant, it is much harder to do than one might suppose.

You cannot behave appropriately, unless you perceive correctly. Once you perceive you are a beam of Light, that comes from the mind of God, you will carry yourself differently.

Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war.

Be faithful that your authentic power is all you need to truly share your light with the world.

The rain falls angry on you but can’t extinguish the light inside you.

Remember that you have a choice in what you see. If you choose to see a person’s darkness, you strengthen your darkness within. If you choose to see their light, you shine from the inside out.

You fill every part of my soul the way sunlight fills spaces of earth.

Secret codes resound. Doubts and intentions come to light.

This Christmas I am soft snow, the crystallized flakes. I am fire in the chimney and the warmth in lights.