Night lights of Kansas City – 2010.
Early this morning I read a short book called “My Life and Love Are One” — a collection of excerpts from letters written by Vincent Van Gogh (hence the previous quote on a previous post). I hate to say, as a person that makes art, that I’ve never gotten into art history so much in regard to styles, eras, ‘famous’ artists, etc. I just like what I like, and more often than not, it’s something you don’t find in the textbooks (Van Gogh is an exception)… But I’ve always enjoyed reading personal accounts from artists whose work I enjoy, because I think that’s the only way to know what’s going on in their head and in turn what inspires their work (as opposed to someone else’s interpretation, etc). From what I’ve read, Van Gogh, in fact, seemed frustrated by the public’s and critics’ views of him as opposed to how he viewed himself. So… here’s a few more:
“Do you know what frees one from this captivity? It is every deep serious affection. Being friends, being brothers, love, these open the prison by supreme power, by some magic force. Where sympathy is renewed, life is restored.”
“Love a friend, a wife, something, whatever you like, but one must love with a lofty and serious intimate sympathy, with strength, with intelligence, and one must always try to know deeper, better, and more.”
“That which fills my head and my heart must be expressed in drawings or pictures.”