"When someone asks me how to paint a good picture, I sometimes answer by comparing creating art to cooking a meal. Let me explain. These days there are many cooking programs to be seen on television. A chef from a famous restaurant comes out and talks about his special dishes, his secrets, his techniques. And it is true that if you follow his directions, step by step, you can make a meal just like his, and it will be delicious. In the case of art, too, by following an expert artist's directions and copying her methods, you could probably produce a picture exactly like hers. But such a picture would have no artistic value. There is really no simple "recipe" or method for creating a good drawing or painting, such as there is in cooling.

Our habits and tastes are also formed by the culture we are born into...People in different cultures have different tastes in art, just as they do i food. One style is no better, or more advanced, or more primitive than another.

But in developing one's own individual artistic style, I believe that the culture that is part of your being from childhood is of great importance. If you look deeply into the culture you were brought up in, you will find there the inspiration and the roots of your own power to create good pictures. Your ability to see and respond sensitively to the beauty of the world around you will, in turn, be transformed into the ability to create art that other people will find to be beautiful. As long as you have the visual sensitivity, you will discover that the actual techniques you need for drawing good pictures are very easy to find.
They are within you."

Mitsumasa Anno

from: Artist to artist
23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art.


We borrowed the Artist to artist book from the library for Katie.

Mr Anno's wise and gentle words spoke to my creative nature.

I love finding bits of wisdom and inspiration in children's books, don't you?


Encourage one another,
Grasshopper