If your life is full, you will paint full pictures. If it is empty, your pictures will be empty too.
Merely knowing your craft will never be enough to make a picture. If you ever amount to anything at all, it will be because you were true to that deep desire or ideal which made you seek artistic expression in pictures.
When values are contrasting, use subtle color. When values are subtle, use contrasting color.
If you want to be clever in your picture, don't let anybody catch you at it. If they catch you, you're not clever.
Form is expressed in the light tones by dark accents, in the dark tones by light accents.
If you think your picture needs something, take something out.
Ideas are intelligent active things which present themselves to your consciousness for expression. You can only be receptive and express them as they will be expressed.
Any picture that needs a caption is a weak picture.
Pictorial art is relating tones to create beauty - like chords of music - not the faithful copying of the model.
A man of but mediocre talent who is furiously driven by deep desire will get somewhere. He who doesn't desire deeply isn't hurt much by failure.
When you feel like putting something into your picture or do not know what is the matter with it, take something out.
The most fruitful and worthwhile thing I have ever done has been to teach.
You must make the main thing in your picture appear most important. If anyone tells me my hat is more important than my head - by God I'm taking off my hat.
Do not have an important dark and important light in the same picture they will destroy each other.
A background can be painted in the same range of values as the foreground by reversing the light effect. In the shadow plane, paint the lights cool and the shadows warm, and in the sunlight plane, paint the lights warm and shadows cool.
The character, position and weight of an object are in the edge.
To paint a mass simple and big you must keep out all the lights and darks that do not belong to its general value.
