When you paint things exactly as they are, you don't show people anything that they couldn't see for themselves; you're telling them what they already know.

People aren't interested in blueprints; they want to sense the painter's involvement and pleasure in the subject. . . . Paint a sense of place.

If you're not excited about the subject, the viewer won't be either.

You can write a letter with a typewriter, a pencil, or a crayon. What you have to say is the important thing.

If fact were enough, you could take a photo of the subject. Unlike the sensitive observer, however, the camera never selects or comments, never adds or subtracts.

When you paint things exactly as they are, you don't show people anything that they couldn't see for themselves; you're telling them what they already know.