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To Paint Is To Love Again
Softcover copy that is hard to find. Cover is scuffed and shows wear. Previous owner"s name is on ffp.Satisfaction guaranteed.
- GenresArtNonfiction
62 pages
First published January 1, 1960
7 people are currently reading
859 people want to read
About the author
Henry Miller
981 books5,170 followersHenry Valentine Miller was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, stream of consciousness, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association, and mysticism. His most characteristic works of this kind are Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, Tropic of Capricorn, and the trilogy The Rosy Crucifixion, which are based on his experiences in New York City and Paris (all of which were banned in the United States until 1961). He also wrote travel memoirs and literary criticism, and painted watercolors.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 15, 2015
Rare it is to read something so un-book-like. This story is a rambling window into a specific kind of artist's mind. In it you will find the spirit and mettle that Henry Miller used to challenge his world and make his own joy. If you, like I, feel that art and painting are something intrinsic to your identity regardless of your skill, amount of time you have for the hobby, or the need to make money or prestige with your produced works, then read this account of an unassuming master of expression.
I do not think everyone will connect with Miller's fragmented narrative, because there is no single lesson or advice given, but I found a variety of encouragements interspersed in his reflections. I particularly admire his willingness to admit imbalance between his writing and his painting -- he allowed the passions of both. In this story he describes the ebb and flow of his creative energies towards each discipline in a very honest and self-aware fashion. Reading this book has given me a renewed sense that our American worldview is too narrow -- we should not lock onto a single passion/career/identity, but instead allow more discontinuity in our lives and entertain multiple outlets and mediums for expression. For when we encounter "writer's block" in our primary career, to paint is to love (ourselves and our world) again.
I do not think everyone will connect with Miller's fragmented narrative, because there is no single lesson or advice given, but I found a variety of encouragements interspersed in his reflections. I particularly admire his willingness to admit imbalance between his writing and his painting -- he allowed the passions of both. In this story he describes the ebb and flow of his creative energies towards each discipline in a very honest and self-aware fashion. Reading this book has given me a renewed sense that our American worldview is too narrow -- we should not lock onto a single passion/career/identity, but instead allow more discontinuity in our lives and entertain multiple outlets and mediums for expression. For when we encounter "writer's block" in our primary career, to paint is to love (ourselves and our world) again.
February 17, 2021
So wonderfully inspiring and such an encouraging outlook on creativity. This book is not limited to only a understanding of painting but to all artistic mediums, embrace the distractions and find new ways of seeing. Taste over the technical, simply filling to the core. To love is to read this book 👏
March 15, 2024
“Love what one creates, whether it causes a stir or not”
To Paint is to Love Again (1963) focuses on Henry Miller’s love of painting and how the mediums of art and writing compare. He discusses his idols and how he fell in love with watercolours.
The book is very expensive to buy, but fortunately I found a recording of it on YouTube, and read by the author himself.
I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an audiobook, but it’s free and Miller has a great voice, and the video is accompanied by paintings of Turner so it turned out to be a lovely experience.
Miller discusses the importance of being an autodidact, and always being “bright and merry”. As expected, his love of Paris is mentioned, and his idols such as Turner, Cezanne, Rousseau are mentioned.
Miller created over three thousand paintings. According to many art critics he was pretty good, but like his writing, much of it is forgotten (Vincent Price was a fan though so that’s something).
Speaking of Hollywood, it’s also interesting to know Miller turned down a job in the film industry because he didn’t want to risk “existing merely to kill time”.
To Paint is to Love Again is great for people who appreciate art, Henry Miller or neither but want an introduction to his world. It’s full of sweet anecdotes and fascinating observations from a humble but deeply gifted talent.
To Paint is to Love Again:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ2tBIa...
To Paint is to Love Again (1963) focuses on Henry Miller’s love of painting and how the mediums of art and writing compare. He discusses his idols and how he fell in love with watercolours.
The book is very expensive to buy, but fortunately I found a recording of it on YouTube, and read by the author himself.
I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an audiobook, but it’s free and Miller has a great voice, and the video is accompanied by paintings of Turner so it turned out to be a lovely experience.
Miller discusses the importance of being an autodidact, and always being “bright and merry”. As expected, his love of Paris is mentioned, and his idols such as Turner, Cezanne, Rousseau are mentioned.
Miller created over three thousand paintings. According to many art critics he was pretty good, but like his writing, much of it is forgotten (Vincent Price was a fan though so that’s something).
Speaking of Hollywood, it’s also interesting to know Miller turned down a job in the film industry because he didn’t want to risk “existing merely to kill time”.
To Paint is to Love Again is great for people who appreciate art, Henry Miller or neither but want an introduction to his world. It’s full of sweet anecdotes and fascinating observations from a humble but deeply gifted talent.
To Paint is to Love Again:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ2tBIa...
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May 16, 2023found the audiobook version of this super-rare, hard-to-find book read by Henry Miller himself. felt very reflectory, which isn't quite the word (self-reflection based, perhaps). Dives into the joy of it all, and it's gorgeous because you can hear the joy in Miller's voice as he talks about something that he loves and has shaped his life as much as art has. writes about (/speaks about) the process of “view[ing] the world with the eyes of a painter” - idea of seeing the world in a new way. Stopping and slowing down to see the familiar objects before you - the “unending source of wonder” to be unearthed, noticed - sensitivity to what you see - entering into the subtleties of life, etc.
quotations(!)
“A picture… is a thousand different things to a thousand different people. Like a book, a piece of sculpture, or a poem. One picture speaks to you, another doesn’t… Some pictures invite you to enter, then make you a prisoner...Some lead you out by the back door. Some weigh you down, oppress you for days and weeks on end. Others lift you up to the skies, make you weep with joy or gnash your teeth in despair” (thinking about the images you end up remembering years down the line - spoke to you in a way that imprints itself in memory)
“To paint is to love again. It’s only when we look with eyes of love that we see as the painter sees. His is a love, moreover, which is free of possessiveness. What the painter sees he is duty-bound to share. Usually he makes us see and feel what ordinarily we ignore or are immune to. His manner of approaching the world tells us, in effect, that nothing is vile or hideous, nothing is stale, flat and unpalatable unless it be our own power of vision. To see is not merely to look. One must look-see. See into and around” (!!! very much so!!!)
“They were artists, and when one is an artist, all mediums open up. No one medium is sufficient to express the wealth of feeling which burdens the soul of an artist”
“To live and love and to give expression to it in paint..."
quotations(!)
“A picture… is a thousand different things to a thousand different people. Like a book, a piece of sculpture, or a poem. One picture speaks to you, another doesn’t… Some pictures invite you to enter, then make you a prisoner...Some lead you out by the back door. Some weigh you down, oppress you for days and weeks on end. Others lift you up to the skies, make you weep with joy or gnash your teeth in despair” (thinking about the images you end up remembering years down the line - spoke to you in a way that imprints itself in memory)
“To paint is to love again. It’s only when we look with eyes of love that we see as the painter sees. His is a love, moreover, which is free of possessiveness. What the painter sees he is duty-bound to share. Usually he makes us see and feel what ordinarily we ignore or are immune to. His manner of approaching the world tells us, in effect, that nothing is vile or hideous, nothing is stale, flat and unpalatable unless it be our own power of vision. To see is not merely to look. One must look-see. See into and around” (!!! very much so!!!)
“They were artists, and when one is an artist, all mediums open up. No one medium is sufficient to express the wealth of feeling which burdens the soul of an artist”
“To live and love and to give expression to it in paint..."
February 18, 2024
Henry Miller was a prolific man who not only wrote literary novels, but painted over 3000 paintings.
May 29, 2015
تجربتي الأولى مع الكتب المسموعة، يا للروعة فقد كان بصوت ميللر ذاته!
ظننت أن هذه السنة ستكون لكونديرا لكن ميللر يواصل إدهاشي بأدوات أكثر أصالة وأقرب للنفس، هذا الكتاب الصغير يحكي عن الرسم بلغة كاتب متمرس، فنان لا يعتبر نفسه كذلك على الرغم من أن عدد لوحاته يربو عن 3000، أيا تكن درجته في عالم الفن، إلا يمكننا من فهم بعض التفاصيل والأحاسيس التي يعايشها الرسام داخله والتي تدفعه للاستمرار بفعل شيء يحبه، شيء يجعل الحياة والكتابة أسهل وأجمل.
الفقرة التي يتحدث فيها عن الفروق بين الرسامين والكتاب جميلة ومهمة جدا، حشده للأسماء التي تأثر بها يغني القارئ وهذا حاله في كثير من كتبه، كلامه عن الألوان شاعري جدا ومؤثر، وكل ما في هذا الكتاب الصغير جميل ومثير وهام، لعله كان يرسم فعلا حينما كتبه، فانتهى الأمر به إلى لوحة جدارية مكتوبة.
ظننت أن هذه السنة ستكون لكونديرا لكن ميللر يواصل إدهاشي بأدوات أكثر أصالة وأقرب للنفس، هذا الكتاب الصغير يحكي عن الرسم بلغة كاتب متمرس، فنان لا يعتبر نفسه كذلك على الرغم من أن عدد لوحاته يربو عن 3000، أيا تكن درجته في عالم الفن، إلا يمكننا من فهم بعض التفاصيل والأحاسيس التي يعايشها الرسام داخله والتي تدفعه للاستمرار بفعل شيء يحبه، شيء يجعل الحياة والكتابة أسهل وأجمل.
الفقرة التي يتحدث فيها عن الفروق بين الرسامين والكتاب جميلة ومهمة جدا، حشده للأسماء التي تأثر بها يغني القارئ وهذا حاله في كثير من كتبه، كلامه عن الألوان شاعري جدا ومؤثر، وكل ما في هذا الكتاب الصغير جميل ومثير وهام، لعله كان يرسم فعلا حينما كتبه، فانتهى الأمر به إلى لوحة جدارية مكتوبة.
April 9, 2025
"A picture…is a thousand different things to a thousand different people. Like a book, a piece of sculpture, or a poem. One picture speaks to you, another doesn’t…"
"To see is not merely to look. One must look-see. See into and around."
"The most familiar things, objects which I had gazed at all my life, now became an unending source of wonder, and with the wonder, of course, affection [...] Have you ever noticed that the stones one gathers at the beach are grateful when we hold them in our hands and caress them? Do they not take on a new expression?"
"I turn to painting when I can no longer write. Painting refreshes and restores me; it enables me to forget that I am temporarily unable to write. So I paint while the reservoir replenishes itself"
"It was a joy to go on turning [paintings] out like a madman — perhaps because I didn’t have to prove anything, either to the world or to myself. I wasn’t hepped on becoming a painter. Not at all. I was simply wiggling out of the strait-jacket."
"I enjoy talking to painters more than to writers…Painters give me the impression of being less used up by their daily task than writers or musicians. Also, they use words in a more plastic way..."
"To paint is to love again, live again, see again"
[I didn't read it, I heard it on YouTube (through a link shared by "Shauny Free Palestine", thank you) read by Henry Miller himself over a background of magnificent watercolors by Turner.]
(https://youtu.be/uJ2tBIal0cw?si=Yp3cV...)
"To see is not merely to look. One must look-see. See into and around."
"The most familiar things, objects which I had gazed at all my life, now became an unending source of wonder, and with the wonder, of course, affection [...] Have you ever noticed that the stones one gathers at the beach are grateful when we hold them in our hands and caress them? Do they not take on a new expression?"
"I turn to painting when I can no longer write. Painting refreshes and restores me; it enables me to forget that I am temporarily unable to write. So I paint while the reservoir replenishes itself"
"It was a joy to go on turning [paintings] out like a madman — perhaps because I didn’t have to prove anything, either to the world or to myself. I wasn’t hepped on becoming a painter. Not at all. I was simply wiggling out of the strait-jacket."
"I enjoy talking to painters more than to writers…Painters give me the impression of being less used up by their daily task than writers or musicians. Also, they use words in a more plastic way..."
"To paint is to love again, live again, see again"
[I didn't read it, I heard it on YouTube (through a link shared by "Shauny Free Palestine", thank you) read by Henry Miller himself over a background of magnificent watercolors by Turner.]
(https://youtu.be/uJ2tBIal0cw?si=Yp3cV...)
May 24, 2019
Love, love, love!
September 4, 2022
“One must not only be in love with what one does, one must also know how to make love.”
May 5, 2024
The perfect kind of text for anyone who loves to create ANYTHING. It helps that I have the physical edition which comes with so many of Miller’s awesome watercolors in full color too, as well as the letters fo his friend Emil which contain more gems + some insight into Miller’s brain before/during/after publication of Tropic of Cancer. Really just a lovely affair over all.
January 29, 2025
Really Nice
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews