Matisse makes a drawing, then he makes a copy of it. He copies it five times, ten times, always clarifying the line. He’s convinced that the last, the most stripped down, is the best, the purest, the definitive one; and in fact, most of the time, it was the first. In drawing, nothing is better than the first attempt.

A painter paints to unload himself of feelings and visions.

I hate it when people pilfer my things.

Don't waste your youth growing up.

Computers are useless - all they can give you are answers.

It's not what the artist does that counts; it's what he is.

When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait.