My father, when he was very sick,
encouraged me to be an artist, because it is
what I wanted, and what he
had failed to be

He did not incite me
to move to America
but I merged the two ideas

In my late twenties in Toulouse
A male analyst told me
I was wallowing in colors
He was a friend of Pierre Soulages
Who only painted in black

The general opinion was
that colors were sinful

A criticism of Matisse’s self-indulgence