Over the weekend I went to see the interactive show Van Gogh Alive, which is currently here in Christchurch.

It really was amazing and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is able to get along. The show immerses the viewer in both Van Gogh’s art, as it evolved over his lifetime, and also in his life — including his words, which wowed and moved me as much as his art.

Here are three quotes that really resonated with me. The first is on the essentials of the writing life:

“To do good work one must eat well, be well housed, have one’s fling from time to time, smoke one’s pipe, and drink one’s coffee in peace”

I particularly heart the piece about drinking one’s coffee in peace. 😉

The second concerns the importance of connection to people and the world, which I often refer to in the context of John Donne’s famous meditation that “no man is an island”:

“. . . The more I think about it the more I feel that there’s nothing more genuinely artistic than to love people.”

The third is the most poignant:

“I cannot change the fact that my paintings do not sell. But the time will come when people will recognize they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture.”