August 19, 1496: How amusing life is in Florence Italy. Especially for a painter, there is much to see and much to learn. Even ordinary people are interesting. There have been several occasions when I found someone with particularly interesting hair or something of that sort, and I ended up spending nearly my entire day following that person and observing them, for every good artist knows that you must use every moment of inspiration to your advantage. I do consider myself a decent artist. I have studied under the watch of the knowledgeable Andrea del Verrocchio. Indeed, I have learned a great many skills from him that I still use today, like the delicate way he arranges hair when he draws people. However, I assisted him in a painting of St. John baptizing Christ after studying for awhile. The angel that I drew was so much better than the rest of the painting, that “he swore he would never touch color again.” Currently I am working on the last supper. It is almost complete, but similarly to most artists, I cannot draw what I Imagine in my head. I feel that the face of Christ especially, is too majestic for my hands to be able to do it justice. If I cannot think of a way to draw it to my satisfaction, I may just leave it unfinished, as I have done with several other works.
March 10,1500: The French king continues to pester me about finishing his cartoon of St, but for the art to be any good, it must come from the heart, and the heart cannot be rushed. At least it will certainly be better than anything Michelangelo could create! To think that he actually thought he deserved that great piece of marble still astounds me. An amateur artist like him getting great material like that would be such a waste. He may have some talent, but it is nothing compared to other artists I have known, including myself. It is partially because of him that I am here in the first place. Because we disagree so much, he finally decided to leave Florence. With him out of the way, I went to France to talk to the king who adores my work. It is then that insisted that I should color his cartoon of St. Anne. He must be more understanding of the pace at which I work, however. As I said before, great works of art take time and patience
November 2, 1503: I have started on my knew painting of Lisa del Giocondo that I was commissioned to work on by her husband. I can already feel that it will be a master piece! It is very tedious work however. There are so many fine details that I must pay attention to especially in the eyes and the hair. I am, again, finding it difficult to paint to my satisfaction. The image in my mind is so much better, so much more alive, that it aggravates me not to be able to put it on paper. I have a good feeling about it, however, so we shall see how it turns out.