"A thing to be beautiful must be complicated. Don't paint something bad just because it is simple. It's just like a tailored suit - the thing must be subtle in order to be good. The fine distinctions of value where one object comes against another are what make a picture interesting. When Sergeant went up to visit Billy James at Chicora, they went out painting and Bill led him along without saying anything, and took him unobtrusively to the 'town view', mountain reflected in lake, etc. Asked him if he thought he could find anything round there to paint. Sergeant said yes, he could find something anywhere, looked around him and sat down and painted an old gnarled root with, some leaves and branches on it. What interested him ... was the delicate play of light and shadows on the leaves and trunk..."
Frank Benson
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