Misery is the only thing in the world that has no end or edge.

Each of us has his own alphabet with which to create poetry.

The most perfect guide is nature. Continue without fail to draw something every day.

We...believe that art is religious, because it is one of man's highest aspirations. There is no such thing as pagan art, only good and bad art.

...and rout the magical mystical moonlight with fierce proof of its own greater power to light, to heat, to make everything known.

I spend several years trying to get inside the brain and heart of my subjects, listening to the interior monologues in their letters, and when I have to bridge the chasms between the factual evidence, I try to make an intuitive leap through the eyes and motivation of the person I'm writing about.

To be an artist is first to be a manual laborer.