Harvey Dunn Quotes

When you feel like putting something into your picture or do not know what is the matter with it, take something out.

If your life is full, you will paint full pictures. If it is empty, your pictures will be empty too.

If you want to be clever in your picture, don't let anybody catch you at it. If they catch you, you're not clever.

When values are contrasting, use subtle color. When values are subtle, use contrasting color.

A man of but mediocre talent who is furiously driven by deep desire will get somewhere. He who doesn't desire deeply isn't hurt much by failure.

Merely knowing your craft will never be enough to make a picture. If you ever amount to anything at all, it will be because you were true to that deep desire or ideal which made you seek artistic expression in pictures.

Form is expressed in the light tones by dark accents, in the dark tones by light accents.

Any picture that needs a caption is a weak picture.

You must make the main thing in your picture appear most important. If anyone tells me my hat is more important than my head - by God I'm taking off my hat.

Pictorial art is relating tones to create beauty - like chords of music - not the faithful copying of the model.

The most fruitful and worthwhile thing I have ever done has been to teach.

The character, position and weight of an object are in the edge.

A background can be painted in the same range of values as the foreground by reversing the light effect. In the shadow plane, paint the lights cool and the shadows warm, and in the sunlight plane, paint the lights warm and shadows cool.

Ideas are intelligent active things which present themselves to your consciousness for expression. You can only be receptive and express them as they will be expressed.

If you think your picture needs something, take something out.

To paint a mass simple and big you must keep out all the lights and darks that do not belong to its general value.

Do not have an important dark and important light in the same picture they will destroy each other.