Quote by Salvador Dali, My Secret Life

I would awake at sunrise, and without washing or dressing sit down before the easel which stood right beside my bed. Thus the first image I saw on awakening was the painting I had begun, as it was the last I saw in the evening when I retired . . . I spent the whole day seated before my easel, my eyes staring fixedly, trying to 'see', like a medium (very much so indeed), the images that would spring up in my imagination. Often I saw these images exactly situated in the painting. Then, at the point commanded by them, I would paint, paint with the hot taste in my mouth that panting hunting dogs must have at the moment when they fasten their teeth into the game killed that very instant by a well-aimed shot. At times I would wait whole hours without any such images occuring. Then, not painting, I would remain in suspense, holding up one paw, from which the brush hung motionless, ready to pounce again upon the oneiric landscape of my canvas the moment the next explosion of my brain brought a new victim of my imagination bleeding to the ground.

Summary

This quote from Salvador Dali provides insight into his artistic process. He describes his daily routine of waking up and immediately immersing himself in his artwork, with his easel placed conveniently beside his bed. Dali's aim was to recreate the visual images that formed in his imagination with vivid clarity. He compares his focus to that of a medium, suggesting a kind of psychic connection between his mind and the canvas. Dali demonstrates his relentless commitment to his creative vision, waiting patiently for inspiration to strike and then swiftly translating it onto his artwork.