The negative is just as important as the positive. Ellsworth Kelly importantnegativepositive Change image and share on social
I have trained my eye over and over ever since I was a kid. I was a bird watcher when I was a little boy. My grandmother gave me a bird book, and I got to like their colors. Ellsworth Kelly birdbookboy Change image and share on social
The paintings to me are always canvas; sculpture has always been metal, though I have made sculpture in wood, also. Ellsworth Kelly canvasmakemetal Change image and share on social
All my work comes from perceiving. I kept seeing things that were brooding in me. I'm not a geometric artist. Ellsworth Kelly artistbroodgeometric Change image and share on social
Matisse draws what I call the essence of the plants. He leaves a shape open. He'll do a leaf and not close it. Everybody used to say, oh, I got it all from Matisse, and I said, 'Not really.' Ellsworth Kelly callclosedraw Change image and share on social
In Boston, I developed my eye from the drawing. In Paris, I was fascinated by what my eye saw in the way that Paris is built, its 'measure.' Ellsworth Kelly bostonbuilddevelop Change image and share on social
I don't like acrylic because you can't get the density of color. And with each coat of oil paint, the surface gets better and richer. Ellsworth Kelly acryliccoatcolor Change image and share on social
I did not want windows, only skylights. I chose my painting wall as it has the best morning light. Ellsworth Kelly chooselightmorning Change image and share on social
One of the first drawings I did in Paris - I wasn't thinking of doing drawings, but somehow or other, I kept drawing - I bought a hyacinth flower with a lot of leaves, just to make me feel like spring. Ellsworth Kelly buydrawdrawing share on social
I said, I don't want to paint things like Picasso's women and Matisse's odalisques lying on couches with pillows. I don't want to paint people. I want to paint something I have never seen before. I don't want to make what I'm looking at. I want the fragments. Ellsworth Kelly couchfragmentlie share on social
