[Linda Brandon]

I'm looking at an old book about the artist William MacGregor Paxton and I thought I'd type out the maxims on the first page of the book, written by Paxton in 1901:
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Let the surfaces flow into one another in a supple envelope of light and paint.

Find a new motive.

Make the picture look as if it were painted in one sitting.

Paint as large a piece as possible at once.

Never paint on one piece too long at a time.

Do something somewhere else to rest your eyes.

Paint neither too thickly nor thinly.

The quickest way is the best.

Compose by masses of light and dark or dark and light.

Chiaroscuro is what makes pictures rich.

Seek a noble and ample design.

Make the objects swim in the air.

Paint all things in relation to the focus.