Blog Archives

Pearls from artists* # 719

With “Magisterial,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 70” x 50” framed

*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on

The secret of success is to find out what your talent is for and then seek to develop the technical abilities you will need to assist you in acquiring the necessary skills. It is here that the secret of success or the forming of great achievements lies for every noble artist, no matter what their medium is. Passion and inspiration will come automatically to assist your noble vision when you broaden your experience and knowledge to become an expert in your particular field, thus helping to improve the lives of mankind. Believing that what you are creating will bring advancement to man’s life will also follow as will hopefulness for the future. Those who benefit from your service, directly or indirectly, will reward you for that which your rare talent has produced and for improving their lives while contributing to the advancement of mankind.

Samuel Adoquei in Origin of Inspiration: Seven Short Essays for Creative People

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Pearls from artists* # 520

“Keeper of the Secret,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 47″ x 38″ image, 60″ x 50″ framed

*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.

Ondaatje: Do you think success and failure can distort the lessons an artist is able to learn?

Murch: There’s that wonderful line of Rilke’s, “The point of life is to fail at greater and greater things.” Recognizing that all of our achievements are doomed, in one sense – the earth will be consumed by the sun in a billion years or so – but in another sense the purpose of our journey is to go farther each time. So you’re trying things out in every film you make, with the potential of failure. I think we’re always failing, in Rilke’s sense – we know there’s more potential that we haven’t realized. But because we’re trying, we develop more and more talent, or muscles, or strategies to improve, each time.

In The Conversation: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje

Comments are welcome!