I read letters and journal entries by [Georgia] O'Keeffe (which were infinitely more useful than any critical analysis of her work).

Finally, I found a wonderful agent who wanted to work with me, and she sent it to one billion publishers and received one billion rejections, until I was fortunate enough to be matched up with the Permanent Press.

The motivation to paint seems more pure, or at least more personal, when the artist is doing it for herself.

I tend to only write productively for one to two hours per day, so there is plenty of time left over for me to work a day job!

I am a tragically bad artist.

I was at an art museum with my parents, and was quite taken with a [Vincent] Van Gogh painting. I stood admiring the painting for some time, and then realized that in addition to feeling moved by the beauty of the painting, I felt a little jealous of the painter.

Does art play a role in the greater good of society, or does it just promote the satisfaction of the artist? I go back and forth on that question.