Open to Desire

I'm reading this excellent Buddhist/Psychology book by Mark Epstein, M.D. called "Open to Desire: Embracing a Lust for Life" right now that I highly recommend. Here's a quick excerpt (p. 143 of hardcover):

"In 1912, Henri Matisse visted Morocco and was struck by the softness of the light there. It changed the way he approached painting. Trying to express the spirituality that he felt in that light, he began to remove many of the features that he would ordinarily have included on his canvas. Faces became impersonal, stripped of the attributes that gave them their individuality. Outlines of objects vanished and uninterrupted areas of pure color began to emerge. No Western painter had ever taken such liberties. It was a technique that came to be known as "less is more," and it allowed Matisse the freedom, warmth and exuberance that was to define his work."

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