All the sorrow, all the bitterness, all the sadness, I forget them and ignore them in the joy of working.

But as I see it, the most corrupt art is the sentimental the art of orange blossoms which make pale women swoon.

I sometimes have a horrible fear of turning up a canvas of mine. I'm always afraid of finding a monster in place of the precious jewels I thought I had put there!

Watercolour is not especially difficult, but I must warn you to steer clear of those pretty English watercolourists, so skilful and alas so weak, and so often too truthful.

It is only by drawing often, drawing everything, drawing incessantly, that one fine day you discover to your surprise that you have rendered something in its true character.

Don't be afraid in nature: one must be bold, at the risk of having been deceived and making mistakes.

I began to understand my sensations, to know what I wanted, at around the age of forty - but only vaguely.