"Catchphrases for Painting"

I was reading through Patricia Moran's "Painting the Beauty of Flowers with Oils" and I thought some of her "Catchphrases for Painting" were particularly interesting:

"It is not what you paint but how you paint it"
"Paint what you love and love what you paint"
"Maintain the initial impression"
"Relate every brushstroke to the whole painting"
"The spaces can be as interesting as the object"
"The shadow can explain the object"
"Cover the blank canvas as fast as you can"
Near enough is never good enough"
"Paint what you observe to be there, not what you know to be there"
"Keep it as soft as you can, as neutral as you can, for as long as you can"
"Big brush, big area, small brush, small area"
"Paint the hands while looking at the face"
A painting is only as good as its worst point"
"Don't count on happy accidents"
"Don't work on one spot too long"
"The signature is part of the painting"

If you received a book voucher for Christmas a book that is new to the shelves of Exclusive Books is: "Emma Pearse's Artist's Materials". This little book is brought out by Winsor and Newton and is a most comprehensive sourcebook of methods and media. I can recommend this as a good book for any artist to have on their shelves.