Art Quotes

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. ~Twyla Tharp

I like these two quotes because they are very profound and the ways I view art as. I believe art is a medium and a function of some sort. As the second one implies, art is the only way to escape. The other day I was bored tired and frustrated; these are not good combinations. So I decided to write a poem and when I was done, WOW!! I felt better. It was an escape for me. A way for me to be taken away into another world even though I didn't leave my seat. I see this happen to other people. I know someone who loves to draw and paint. One day as she was drawing, I passed her and had a full conversation with her, or so I thought. When I finished talking to her she had just finished drawing and that's when she turned to me and said, "Hi Michelle, Just getting in?" I realized that though her physical presence was there she wasn't emotionally and mentally there. She was immersed in her work which took her to some place far better than she really was.

The first quote does indicate another view of mine that I hold about art. Art reflects the artist. Art always reflects the artist's mental state, emotional state relationship state, it always reflect SOMETHING about the artist. The artist has to have a drive and reason for doing something. This is why the artist paints his nature, his soul, his life on the pallet. The work of art is always reflecting something about the artists and that is why I agree with the quote. So with that said my question is posed below.

My question is: What do you think artists,past and present, would say about the theories of art?