To Model An Object Is To Possess

I Want To Create A Cat Like The Real Cats I See Crossing The Streets, Not Like Those You See In Houses. They Have Nothing In Common. The Cat Of The Streets Has Bristling Fur. It Runs Like A Fiend, And If It Looks At You, You Think It Is Going To Jump In Your Face.

If I Could Say This I Wouldn't Have To Paint.

When I Enter The Studio, I Leave My Body At The Door The Way The Moslems Leave Their Shoes When They Enter The Mosque, And I Only Allow My Spirit To Go In There And Paint.

When You Start With A Portrait And Search For A Pure Form, A Clear Volume, Through Successive Eliminations, You Arrive Inevitably At The Egg. Likewise, Starting With The Egg And Following The Same Process In Reverse, One Finishes With The Portrait.

I Have A Horror Of People Who Speak About The Beautiful. What Is The Beautiful? One Must Speak Of Problems In Painting!