From the Past Week: McKinleyian Wisdom.
"That's what painting is--edges, values, color."
"It's not where you work, it's what you paint." (You could say the same for materials. Using precisely the same combination of materials and equipment that Richard uses won't get you Instant Richardness.)
"Don't lay yourself out naked for an audience that doesn't deserve it." (Remember this when people are being cruel and calling it a crit!)
"Paint with confidence...even when you're terrifed."
"Take chances." (It should be obvious, but it ain't.)
"In landscape painting it's better to err on the side of light." (This is coming from a dude who's a master at capturing light.)
"Do the most important work out in the field. Save the minutae for later, when you're back in the studio." (This works also for treating the most important element in your painting, the focal point of your subject. Attack that first.)
"Trust the voice in your head that says, "I like it"."
"You have to stand out there directly and not cower to what's there." (Paraphraised from Sir Alfred East, referring to working outdoors. The same can be said of any sort of subject matter.)
"I don't need to see a shrink. I paint."
"Nothing is what it is except by comparison." (That is, every object in your work exists in context to the elements around it; context determines everything in your painting. He referred to this concept as "simoltaneous contrasts". Clouds are determined by their relationship to the sky they're in. Think context in everything you do...value, chroma/saturation, shape, edge, space, temperature...and your life as a painter will be eased greatly.)
"I prefer to quit while the painting has merit." (Better to stop and think; overworking is the Devil's Playground, and it ALWAYS starts with "But I could make it perfect if I just...". Don't do it.)
"I always regret doing too much." (See above.)
Finally....
"Learn to question everything." (Remember, you're not trying to be a camera. Your task as an artist is to capture the essence of a thing: a mood, a moment in time, a window onto a particular space, a state of tension or interaction, yadda yadda. You have the right, even the obligation, to edit your subject to suit the goal. Don't flinch from doing that.)
"A great painter thinks like a sculptor." (Remember FORM/SHAPE, don't think in terms of OBJECTS.)