I’ve been reading Virgil Elliott’s Traditional Oil Painting (2000).
‘Virtually all of the great works of art create a mood that the viewer cannot help but feel. This, more than anything else, is the mark of a masterpiece. More than technique, more than colour, more than arcane theories or flashy brushwork, the emotional content is what separates great art from good art.’ (p 12)
‘The fact that something is not easy does not justify the conclusion that it is impossible.’ (p xiv) – I love this one. I hate it too, though… generally when a painting isn’t working and I can’t see how to fix it.
‘”Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains.”‘ (Jane Ellice Hopkins (1870) in Elliott, p 203)