Mary Cassatt

I owe a lot to Degas, but I have my own vision.

Life is too short to paint bad pictures.

In painting, as in life, simplicity is the key to elegance.

I paint what I see in the everyday moments of women and children.

Success in art comes from persistence, not from genius alone.

The light in Paris is unlike anywhere else; it inspires the soul.

I detest conventionality; it stifles the spirit.

A good painting should evoke emotion without words.

Motherhood is the purest form of beauty I can capture.

I have no time for fools in the art world.

Art is not about copying nature, but interpreting it.

The independence of a woman artist is hard-won but essential.

Every stroke on the canvas is a decision of the heart.

I prefer the quiet of the studio to the noise of salons.

Pastels allow me to capture the softness of life.

Age has not dimmed my passion for painting.

Critics understand little of true artistic vision.

The joy of creation is its own reward.

I paint intimacy, the unseen bonds between people.

Travel broadens the mind, but home inspires the brush.