Artist Quotes by John F. Carlson

We must not imitate the externals of nature with so much fidelity that the picture fails to evoke that wonderful teasing recurrence of emotion…

— John F. Carlson

You will learn to paint trees only by understanding them, their growth, their nature, their movement - and realizing that they are conscious living…

— John F. Carlson

A work of art in paint should be beautiful and expressive as abstract colour and form and should not interest us necessarily in any…

— John F. Carlson

The great paintings are the ones with the most subtle value relationships. The closer you could bring your values and still distinguish between them,…

— John F. Carlson

Art is a thing so much of the imagination, of the soul, that it is difficult to descend to the fundamentals of technique and…

— John F. Carlson

Good colour really means good taste; and 'powerful' colour means a reserve, to give a climax its full force, and not 'red, white, and…

— John F. Carlson

If you're going to paint from photos, make sure you've painted for at least ten years.

— John F. Carlson

Clouds are fascinating to paint because they are the only element in a landscape that possesses free movement.

— John F. Carlson

Trust your feelings entirely about colour, and then, even if you arrive at no infallible colour theory, you will at least have the credit…

— John F. Carlson

This art of conservation is strength, and makes the masterpiece a masterpiece. Otherwise, the man who simply brought all the different colors obtainable, and…

— John F. Carlson

The eye and soul are caressed in the contemplation of form and colour. The subtle changes of colour over a surface - transitions that…

— John F. Carlson

It is a curious fact that out-of-door nature is to the beginner an enormously overloaded 'property room.' He sees, for instance, the myriad of…

— John F. Carlson

Too much reality in a picture is always a disappointment to the imaginative soul. We love suggestion and not hard facts.

— John F. Carlson

Reserve is strength; overstatement is weakness. No one cares to hear the singer's topmost notes when the voice is 'nigh onto breaking.

— John F. Carlson

A picture is a work of art, not because it is 'modern,' nor because it is 'ancient,' but because it is a sincere expression…

— John F. Carlson