The will in me must be the making of things

Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, 1 May 1882

I think nothing in my work indicates I shall fail, if I only can continue to work and do my best. And I am not a person who works slowly or irresolutely. Drawing becomes a passion with me, and I throw myself into it more and more; and where there's a will, there's a way.

Where there is a will, there is a way, but it must come from both sides. The will in me must be the making of things; the will in those who have or might get sympathy for me must be the buying or selling of those things. The will being there, I think the way may be found.

But if everybody talked like Tersteeg about “unsaleable” and “without charm,” heaps of annoyances would be in store for me. However this may be, I will try even harder to conquer the “unsaleable” and “without charm.”

Letter 195
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
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