This month's creative challenge over on a year of creative habits is to study Matisse. I've spent a few hours here and there this month pouring through his work and his life. Here's some things about Matisse that stood out to me:

I loved all the photographs of him and animals. I love his line work and his use of color. And of course I love the cut outs.

"Around April 1906 he met Pablo Picasso, who was 11 years younger than Matisse. The two became lifelong friends as well as rivals and are often compared. One key difference between them is that Matisse drew and painted from nature, while Picasso was much more inclined to work from imagination."

I found that interesting because it has often bothered me that I work from life and photos, never from imagination. I've always seen that as a weakness of mine but perhaps it's just a part of creative DNA, as Twyla Tharp would say.

a favorite quote of his:

"An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language."

He worked as artist for over 60 years creating in various media and styles. If there was a poster child for a year of creative habits, it's Henri Matisse.