John Singer Sargent

“A portrait is a painting with something wrong with the mouth.”

“Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend.”

“I am trying to paint the portrait of a clam.”

“I hate to paint portraits! I hope to never paint another portrait in my life.”

“Cultivate an ever-continuous power of observation. Wherever you are, your eyes are taking in scenes, storing them up for future use.”

“You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh.”

“The thicker you paint, the more it flows.”

“I do not judge, I only chronicle.”

“Work; be patient; be moderate in all things.”

“If you begin with the middle-tone and work up from it toward the darks... you avoid false accents.”

“An artist who speaks about his work is usually boring.”

“It is certain that at certain times of the day the roofs of Paris are blue.”

“The artist appeals to that part of our being which is not dependent on wisdom... to that in us which is a gift and not an acquisition.”