Art has a will of its own. It has nothing to do with the taste of the moment or what's expected of you. That's a formula for dead art, or fashionable art.

There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.

You have to know how to use the accident, how to recognise it, how to control it, and ways to eliminate it so that the whole surface looks felt and born all at once.

I'd rather risk an ugly surprise than rely on things I know I can do.

In relations with people, as in art, if you always stick to style, manners, and what will work, and you're never caught off guard, then some beautiful experiences never happen.

There are no rules. Let the picture lead you where it must go.

Every canvas is a journey all its own.

I follow the rules until I go against them all.

I had the landscape in my arms as I painted it. I had the landscape in my mind and shoulder and wrist.

What concerns me when I work, is not whether the picture is a landscape, or whether it's pastoral, or whether somebody will see a sunset in it. What concerns me is - did I make a beautiful picture?

I don't resent being a female painter. I don't exploit it. I paint.

He who challenges the God in his dying bed is indisputably the most courageous man, but not the cleverest one!

You learn almost as much about a thinker from what he reads—in particular, what he likes and what he disdains—as from what he writes himself.

Huevos up. Swing up to the window, swing back to Al B. Hall, who says, "Bless you, " and would I get him a bottle of Satan's Red-Hot Revenge for the eggs?Sure thing, Pastor.

Only the person who is faithful to God can fulfill his course

As I read you I fell in love with the holes between your words and I loved you most on the days you could not love yourself.

The ordeal is not that truth does not win

The pyramids of Egypt will not last a moment compared to the daisy.

When you're dealing with killing people and things that are upsetting, that can be a delicate place to occupy yourself for a day.

I'm not temperamentally into high comedy. I'm not a Noel Coward kind of girl.

Having a dog or cat will open your heart. Reading a book will open your mind. Having both a pet and a book... absolute heaven.