This beautifully presented collection of essays by Walkley award-winning journalist Janet Hawley examines the creative output of some of the last few centuries' greatest artists, both Australian and international. Drawn from her widely read and well-respected Good Weekend columns, each essay offers a remarkable snapshot of the inspiration behind famous works, while examining artists' achievements and offering a rare glimpse into the lives of the people behind the canvas -- includes essays on Brett Whitely Ben Quilty, Margaret Olley, Francoise Gilot, Bill Henson, John Brack, and John Wolseley, among others. As Janet comments: The big difference about my interviews, is that they are very personal meetings, conversations, interviews and encounters with all the artists, in their own homes and studios. I get to know them, their families, eat meals with them, spend a lot of time with them. And I let the artists speak, in their own words, about why they do what they do. I'm quite uninhibited in the questions I ask. I'm a feature writer -- not a critic. I don't impose theories upon them, nor critically judge their art. It's their chance to explain their art, why they've painted these pictures, what motivates them, their own creative process, struggles, joys, angsts.