The Heart of Who We Are

What is it we are “about?”

“Painting is damned difficult—you always think you’ve got it, but then you haven’t.”—Paul Cezanne

What is it we are “about” when we write? When we paint or produce a play? What are we after? Is it a certain feeling or mood, an emotional response? Maybe like the impressionist painters, it involves a specific goal—such as capturing the play of sunlight and shadow, accurately portraying the luminosity of light on water. Maybe, like Cezanne, the goal is to paint an apple that is both the essence of apple. and also an apple with such form and solidity that you could almost extend your hand and pluck it from the canvas.