The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.

Underneath work that lasts there is usually somebody saying thank you for something. Even the bleak and furious pieces get made by people who found the world worth attending to for years, which is a form of thanks whether or not it feels like one. Contempt alone does not sustain a long effort. Something has to be loved enough to be worth the trouble of rendering.

If your own work has gone sour, look for what you are still glad of in the material. Begin there rather than at the part you are trying to prove. Attention given gladly produces different results from attention given in argument.