I am firmly convinced that true expression occurs when the artist speaks directly from personal vision, experience, memory, intuition, obsession or compulsion rather than from or to popular ideals. We are taught and encouraged to strive for it, to be original. However, originality cannot be acquired in art schools, nor purchased in art supply stores. Copying the work of a recognized original artist is obviously not very original. The mystery is in just how simple it really is.
Originality is only possible if the artist has the courage and the discipline to be totally honest.
The only true originality is honesty. The deeper the artist delves into what is uniquely and personally true, the more original the work becomes. But it takes courage and humility to work with what is deeply personal. To work this way is to love oneself, to fully embrace oneself. In that embrace is revealed the joy and the pain of being alive, of being human.