When I put a green, it is not grass. When I put a blue, it is not the sky. Henri Matisse More Quotes by Henri Matisse More Quotes From Henri Matisse The portrait is one of the most curious art forms. It demands special qualities in the artist, and an almost total kinship with the model. Henri Matisse qualityspecialart Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us. Henri Matisse workhappinessinspirational Exactitude is not truth. Henri Matisse exactitude There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted. Henri Matisse flowerroseart It is with color that you render light, though you must also feel this light, have it within yourself. Henri Matisse colorlightfeels Art should be something like a good armchair in which to rest from physical fatigue. Henri Matisse armchairsshouldart I cannot copy nature in a servile way; I am forced to interpret nature and submit it to the spirit of the picture. From the relationship I have found in all the tones there must result a living harmony of colors, a harmony analogous to that of a musical composition. Henri Matisse musicalcolorway With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft. Henri Matisse colorenergyart An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language. Henri Matisse masteryeffortartist Truth and reality in art begin at the point where the artist ceases to understand what he is doing and capable of doing - yet feels in himself a force that becomes steadily stronger... and more concentrated. Henri Matisse strongerrealityart A thimbleful of red is redder than a bucketful. Henri Matisse reddesigncolor One must, of course, have one's entire experience behind one and not have lost the freshness of instinct. Henri Matisse instinctbehindslost An artist must never be a prisoner. Prisoner? An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc. Henri Matisse etcstyleart With greater completeness and abstraction, I have attained a form filtered to its essentials. Henri Matisse simplicityessentialsform He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back. Henri Matisse freedomrunninglove It would be a mistake to ascribe this creative power to an inborn talent. In art, the genius creator is not just a gifted being, but a person who has succeeded in arranging for their appointed end, a complex of activities, of which the work is the outcome. The artist begins with a vision — a creative operation requiring an effort. Creativity takes courage. Henri Matisse creativitymistakeart To arrive is to be in prison. Henri Matisse prison The artist has to look at life as he did when he was a child. If he loses that faculty, he cannot express himself in an original, that is, a personal way. Henri Matisse artistchildrenlooks Above all, an artist must never be too easily satisfied with what he has done. Henri Matisse doneartistsatisfaction There are flowers everywhere, for those who bother to look. Henri Matisse positive-thinkingflowerbeauty
