I’m in my element when I am a little bit out of this world: then I’m in the real world – I’m on the beam. Because when I’m falling, I’m doing all right; when I’m slipping, I say, hey, this is interesting! It’s when I’m standing upright that bothers me: I’m not doing so good; I’m stiff. As a matter of fact, I’m really slipping, most of the time, into that glimpse. I’m like a slipping glimpser…..

Willem de Kooning, Sketchbook1: Three Americans, 1960