If you hear a voice within you saying, “You are not a painter,” then by all means paint, boy, and that voice will be silenced.

At the age of 16, in 1869, Vincent van Gogh left his home in the Netherlands to work with his uncle, an art dealer who was traveling between London and Paris. The work gave him access to some of the greatest artists of his time, but Van Gogh himself didn’t begin creating art until 1880, just 10 years before his death. In that time he created over 800 paintings and 700 drawings, establishing a unique style that would, posthumously, make him a household name. Though he only sold one piece of work in his life, he is widely considered one of the greatest painters of the 19th century.