All paintings start out of a ...

All paintings start out of a mood, out of a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression. To call this expression abstract seems to me often to confuse the issue. Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract . . . a realistic or non-objective approach makes no difference. The result is what counts.
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 Richard Diebenkorn

Quotes from the same author

I can never accomplish what I want - only what I would have wanted had I thought of it beforehand.
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 Richard Diebenkorn
I have found in my still-life work that I seem to be able to tell what objects are important to me by what tends to stay in the painting as it develops.
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 Richard Diebenkorn
Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract for he must create his own work from his visual impressions. A realistic or non-objective approach makes no difference. The result is what counts.
 See image
 Richard Diebenkorn
In a successful painting everything is integral - all the parts belong to the whole. If you remove an aspect or element you are removing its wholeness.
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 Richard Diebenkorn
Somehow don't be bored, but if you must, use it in action. Use its destructive potential.
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 Richard Diebenkorn