Cover of Matisse

Henri Matisse wrote:

Spontaneity is not what I am looking for. . . . Undoubtedly it is necessary to paint as one sings, without constraint. The acrobat executes his number with ease and an apparent facility. Let’s not lose sight of the long preparatory work that permitted him to attain this result. It is the same with painting. The possession of the means should pass from the conscious to the unconscious through the work, and it is then that one is able to give the impression of spontaneity.

Painting requires organization by very conscious means, as in the other arts. Organization of forces– colors are forces– as in music, organization of tones.

Matisse said:

“When Sister Jacques-Marie protested that she had understood Matisse to be inspired by God Almighty, he said gently, ‘Yes, but that god is me.'”

Quotes from Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: the Conquest of Colour by Hilary Spurling

I think if everyone felt like they should listen to the god inside them, then the world would be heaven, and all of us capable of bringing about lives of wonder and inspiration. But then again it could turn out to be chaos. Could the world handle billions of gods at the same time?