© This page contains an assortment. It is added to as occasion reminds me. Some of it’s like Yogi Berra who is supposed to have said,”I never said half the things I said” In fact, half the things here were never said by David Paulson either, but he would have said them first. ( DP=*)
“Start at the start. Its a good place to start, but for some reason,noone wants to start there.”*
“The function of the nude in art, is to render the artist naked”
” I believe in you, why dont you believe in you?”*
“You can cut a piece of wood in half with a hammer, but a saw works best”
“it doesnt require genius to make things complicated”
‘Have you noticed how much contemporary art and criticism relies on asking questions? I am much more focussed on answers”
“The snow is no place for thongs”
“An artist fills a space with an attitude”
“If you see a good idea, steal it!” *
“Look until your eyes bleed.”
” The back of the arm and front of the leg can each be drawn with a single line. The complexity is on the other side.”*
“Dont put yourself down. There are thousands willing to do that for you. Let them do it, and save yourself the trouble.” *
” The middle is almost never in the middle”*
“Piling detail upon detail is closer to knitting than painting”*
“He has a wonderful vocabulary, but nothing to say”
“If at first you don’t succeed……..Give up! Try something else,but dont bash your head against the wall ,hoping the wall will change.”
“Every part of the silhouette is coming from within the form and finishes within. Edge copying is not drawing”*
” In the life class, draw head, hands and feet very time. No amputees!”*
” Dont take 20 minutes to draw a 5 minute sketch. Draw MORE, always more”*
” I can draw because I know nothing about it, you cant, because you think you do know.”*
” Get to the point! Use a point to get to it.”*
“Why spoil a good story by telling the truth? Tell lies, lots of lies!”*
“Essential to keep some method in your madness, but even more to keep a madness in your method.”
“There are thousands of ways to draw badly, and very few ways to draw well. Why practice drawing badly?”
“Stand up to paint. You cant paint while sitting on your brains!”*
” We see with the mind, not the eye. Drawing brutally reveals our intelligence or lack of it ”
“You have to accept responsibility for every mark. No-one else can.” *
” Punk angst is no excuse for uninformed drawing”*
” I have been accused of a conspicuous display of skill. Better that, than to be accused of a conspicuous lack of it!”*
” Make your darks darker and the lights lighter: go for the drama!”*
“Every square inch should be interesting somehow. Its dark against light,thick against thin,straight against curve: its all chiaroscoro . We apprehend by same against different. Its how the eye and mind work.”
“What you do in the first ten minutes is crucial. If its wrong, its still going to be wrong a week later. Change it! Practice beginning, and the finishing comes later.”*
” When in doubt, revert to mindless physical violence! If its already stuffed, you cant stuff it any worse.”
” The first lines are drawn with the shoulder. Then the arm, then the hand, and finally the fingers. It all depends how much detail you want.”
“Carefully select the biggest brush that will do the job. Then use one bigger”
” A painting has four edges and four corners and only one middle. Why does everyone spend all their time on the middle?”
” Rubens ruined everything!” ( This comment refers to Rubens’ introduction of a mixed neutral grey into flesh tones instead of the optical greys derived from translucent warm over cool)
“You will never figure out what the model looks like by staring at your drawing. Look at the model as you draw”*
“Dont think! You are no good at it”*
“Soft edge,hard bristle: hard edge,soft bristle.”
“You don’t need my help to remain ignorant”
“Refuse to take a backward step going forward.”
“Ideally,every brushstroke should be a think”
To a student who was complaining that somebobdy had stolen their work…” You should be flattered. No one has ever bothered to steal mine!”*
Your first 10,000 drawings will be shit, so do them first.*
“All those lovely colours, and all in the wrong place!” Nick Leavey referring to one of my paintings.
“Put in the untidy bits! I know they look funny, but he looks a lot funnier without them” *
“There is no future in prophesy”© Brian E Deagon 2012
Line from the mind, tone from the eye, colour from the heart
They cant see the art for the trees!
And one from Robert Hughes ” It has the appearance of art but lacks its content”