Thoughts of Famous Painting Quotes in English
Painting quotes in English encapsulate the profound essence of creativity and artistic expression, providing an endless source of inspiration for both artists and art enthusiasts alike. These quotes often span various time periods and artistic movements, reflecting the thoughts and philosophies of renowned figures in the art world. For example, Vincent van Gogh, a pivotal figure in the Post-Impressionist movement, articulated his connection to the medium by stating, "I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream." This evocative statement encapsulates the idea that painting is not only a visual endeavor but also a deeply personal and imaginative process that begins in the artist's mind.
Here’s a list of famous quotes about painting, along with their meanings and examples. These quotes capture the essence of artistic expression, creativity, and the emotional power of painting.
1. "Painting is just another way of keeping a diary." – Pablo Picasso
Meaning: Painting is a way for artists to capture and record their emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Each artwork tells a personal story, reflecting the artist’s inner world.
Example: Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits reveal her physical and emotional pain, capturing personal struggles much like entries in a diary.
2. "Every canvas is a journey all its own." – Helen Frankenthaler
Meaning: Each painting process is unique, full of experimentation and discovery. Artists often embark on a journey with each work, exploring new techniques and emotions.
Example: Claude Monet painted the same water lilies over and over, with each canvas reflecting a different light, mood, and perspective, creating a journey through variations.
3. "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." – Edgar Degas
Meaning: Art goes beyond the literal. It’s not about the visible subject but about evoking a feeling, idea, or perspective in the viewer.
Example: Van Gogh’s "Starry Night" isn’t a realistic representation of the sky but captures a sense of wonder and emotion, inviting viewers to see the world differently.
4. "A painting is never finished—it simply stops in interesting places." – Paul Gardner
Meaning: An artist’s work could continue endlessly, as there’s always room for improvement or change. However, at some point, they choose to stop when they feel it conveys what they intended.
Example: Leonardo da Vinci’s "Mona Lisa" was continually refined by the artist, and he famously considered it unfinished, though it now stands as a masterpiece.
5. "The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands." – Leonardo da Vinci
Meaning: An artist has limitless potential to capture any concept or emotion within their art. A painter can recreate the universe in their own way, drawing on imagination and skill.
Example: Salvador Dalí’s surreal paintings combine elements of reality and dream, showcasing how an artist’s mind can create an entire world on canvas.
6. "I dream my painting and I paint my dream." – Vincent van Gogh
Meaning: Van Gogh suggests that painting is an extension of his dreams and imagination. His art is inspired by his visions, thoughts, and inner world.
Example: Van Gogh’s "Starry Night" is believed to be inspired by his dreams and emotions, reflecting his unique view of the world and his mind’s interpretation of reality.
7. "Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks." – Plutarch
Meaning: Painting and poetry are different forms of expression but share the power to evoke deep emotions and tell stories. One does so visually, and the other through words.
Example: The Romantic paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, like "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog," are filled with mood and atmosphere, evoking emotions similarly to how poetry might.
8. "I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best." – Frida Kahlo
Meaning: Kahlo captures her inner experiences by painting herself. Her self-portraits reflect her emotional and physical state, as she uses her own image to express her identity.
Example: Frida Kahlo’s many self-portraits document her life and struggles, like "The Two Fridas," which symbolizes her emotional duality and heartache.
9. "Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do." – Edgar Degas
Meaning: For beginners, painting may seem simple, but as artists gain skill, they realize the complexities and nuances of true artistry, which makes it more challenging.
Example: A beginner may paint freely without worrying about technique, but a professional artist considers composition, color theory, and detail, making the process more demanding.
10. "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way." – Georgia O'Keeffe
Meaning: Painting provides a language beyond words, allowing artists to express complex emotions and ideas through color, form, and composition.
Example: Georgia O’Keeffe’s abstract flower paintings communicate emotions and a sense of wonder that she couldn’t convey through words alone.
11. "If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint." – Edward Hopper
Meaning: Some feelings and ideas are too deep or complex for words. Painting allows artists to express what words cannot capture, giving life to unspoken emotions.
Example: Hopper’s "Nighthawks" depicts isolation and urban loneliness, evoking a mood that’s challenging to convey in words alone.
12. "The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity." – Alberto Giacometti
Meaning: Art isn’t about copying real life but rather creating an experience or emotion as vivid as reality itself. It invites viewers to feel as if they’re within the artwork.
Example: Jackson Pollock’s abstract drip paintings don’t depict reality but convey a raw intensity, drawing viewers into a powerful emotional experience.
13. "A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art." – Paul Cézanne
Meaning: True art originates from the artist’s emotions. If there’s no emotional connection, the work lacks authenticity and depth.
Example: Cézanne’s landscapes, filled with vibrant colors and emotion, reflect his connection to nature, showing how his feelings influenced his technique.
14. "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." – Thomas Merton
Meaning: Art allows for self-exploration and introspection, as well as the chance to escape from reality, immersing oneself in creativity.
Example: An artist working on an abstract painting may find themselves reflecting on personal emotions, losing themselves in the creative process while gaining insights.
15. "Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures." – Henry Ward Beecher
Meaning: Art reflects the artist’s inner self. Each brushstroke is an expression of the artist’s character, thoughts, and feelings, making each work unique.
Example: The bold colors and powerful brushstrokes in Vincent van Gogh’s paintings reveal his intense emotions and passionate nature.
These quotes and examples illustrate the transformative power of painting and the profound emotions, ideas, and personal reflections it captures. Each artist uses their canvas to share a piece of their soul, creating art that speaks directly to the hearts of viewers.
In addition to historical figures, contemporary voices have emerged that further emphasize the emotional and psychological links that individuals establish with art. Many modern artists and critics highlight how the act of painting transcends mere visual appeal, serving as a powerful conduit for conveying complex emotions, thoughts, and narratives. These insights reveal that painting is often a reflection of the human experience, capable of communicating feelings that words alone may struggle to express.
The significance of these quotes extends beyond their initial inspiration; they also provide meaningful reflections on the very nature of painting itself. By exploring themes such as perception, imagination, and the act of creation, these sayings illustrate how art can evoke a spectrum of emotions and thoughts, thereby engaging viewers in a deeper conversation about the human condition. They often provoke contemplation and dialogue, prompting both artists and observers to consider their personal relationships with art and its transformative power.
Whether prominently displayed in the inspiring environments of studios or shared on vibrant social media platforms, these painting quotes resonate deeply with the universal longing to articulate one’s innermost thoughts and feelings through the dynamic interplay of color and form. They not only motivate individuals to explore their creative potential but also foster a shared appreciation for the artistic process, reminding us of the beauty and complexity inherent in the act of painting.
Thought of the day Painting
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.
- Andy Warhol Thoughts
Painting something that defies the law of the land is good. Painting something that defies the law of the land and the law of gravity at the same time is ideal. - Banksy |
Painting is not for me either decorative amusement, or the plastic invention of felt reality; it must be every time: invention, discovery, revelation. Max Ernst |
Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between dream and reality in our mind. - Magdalena Abakanowicz |
I started painting as a hobby when I was little. I didn’t know I had any talent. I believe talent is just a pursued interest. Anybody can do what I do. - Bob Ross |
There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted. - Henri Matisse |
The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists.. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little. - Banksy |
Every morning when I wake up, I experience an exquisite joy - the joy of being Salvador Dalí and I ask myself in rapture: What wonderful things is this Salvador Dalí going to accomplish today? - Salvador Dalí |
It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well-painted. This is the essence of academicism. - Mark Rothko |
When you want to make the main color pure and bright, don’t just keep adding bright colors on it. Just make the colors around the spot darker and dull. It will give the scene dramatical effects. I think the life is the same. - Hiroko Sakai |
It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This is the essence of academicism. There is no such thing as good painting about nothing. - Mark Rothko |
Painting Quotes List and Sayings in English |
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. - Scott Adams |
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. - Henry Ward Beecher |
If I close my eyes, I see things better than with my eyes open. - Henri Matisse Quotation |
A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world. - Painting Quotes in English by Edmond de Goncourt Quotes |
Art is coming face to face with yourself. - A Quotation From Jackson Pollock |
The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it. - Banksy |
Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible. Balthus |
One learns about painting by looking at and imitating other painters. Frank Stella |
The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. Jackson Pollock |
Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one's sensations. - Paul Cezanne |
I must have flowers, always, and always. - Claude Monet |
An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one. - Charles Horton Cooley |
Art is never finished, only abandoned. - Leonardo da Vinci |
Don’t pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches. - Andy Warhol |
Good painting is like good cooking; it can be tasted, but not explained. - Maurice de Vlaminck |
Painting contains a divine force which... makes the dead seem almost alive. Leon Battista Alberti |
Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul. - Edvard Munch |
The point of painting is not really deception or imitation. - A. S. Byatt |
I couldn’t give you something mediocre even if that’s all you asked for. - Michelangelo |
The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. - Jackson Pollock Quotes |
Painting Quotation in English |
Painting is an illusion, a piece of magic, so what you see is not what you see. - Philip Guston |
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. - Henry Ward Beecher |
Painting is the frozen evidence of a performance. - Chuck Close |
One eye sees, the other feels. - Paul Klee |
Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend. - John Singer Sargent Quote |
Every painting is a voyage into a sacred harbour. Giotto di Bondone |
The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to. - Frida Kahlo |
A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art. - Paul Cezanne |
A simple line painted with the brush can lead to freedom and happiness. - Joan Miro |
Painting is by nature a luminous language. Robert Delaunay |
I’m in fine fettle and fired with a desire to paint. - Claude Monet |
To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it. - Kurt Vonnegut |
Every canvas is a journey all its own. - Helen Frankenthaler |
The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real. - Lucian Freud |
All you need to paint is a few tools, a little instruction, and a vision in your mind. - Bob Ross |
I paint flowers so they will not die. – Frida Kahlo |
I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality. - Frida Kahlo |
A blank canvas…has unlimited possibilities. - Stephanie Perkins |
We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents. - Bob Ross |
I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best. - Frida Kahlo |
Use your blood to paint. Keep painting until you faint. Keep painting until you die. - Yoko Ono |
Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God. - Rembrandt |
Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know. - Rembrandt |
Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things. - Edgar Degas |
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. - Thomas Merton |
If you understand a painting beforehand, you might as well not paint it. - Salvador Dalí |
The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable. - Robert Henri |
A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. - Michelangelo Buonarroti Quotes |
Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing. - Salvador Dali |
Painting becomes interesting when it becomes timeless. Peter Doig |
I would like to paint the way a bird sings. - Claude Monet |
If I paint something, I don’t want to have to explain what it is. - Bob Ross |
Art must be an expression of love or it is nothing. - Marc Chagall |
Intensity is all that matters in painting. - John Piper |
Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is. Jackson Pollock |
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way things I had no words for. - Georgia O’Keeffe |
In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity. - Alberto Giacometti |
Painting is a language of its own. You cannot interpret one form of expression with another form of expression. - Marcel Duchamp |
Painting must be fertile. It must give birth to a world… it must fertilize the imagination. - Joan Miro |
A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image. - Elaine de Kooning |
The best reason to paint is that there is not reason to paint. - Keith Haring |
Art is to console those who are broken by life. - Vincent Van Gogh |
If you hear a voice within you saying, ”You are not a painter,” then by all means paint… and that voice will be silenced. - Vincent Van Gogh |
I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart. - Vincent van Gogh |
Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion. Vincent Van Gogh |
Painting Quotes List |
There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. - Vincent Van Gogh |
Art is what you can get away with. - Andy Warhol |
To create one’s own world takes courage. - Georgia O’Keeffe |
A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places. - Paul Gardner |
Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish. - Michelangelo |
I say that good painters imitated nature; but that bad ones vomited it. - Painting Quotes by Miguel de Cervantes |
You can’t learn techniques and then try to become a painter. Techniques are a result. - Jackson Pollock |
In painting you must give the idea of the true by means of the false. Edgar Degas |
Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do. - Edgar Degas |
If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint. - Edward Hopper |
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. - Andy Warhol * |
Painting calmed the chaos that shook my soul. Niki de St. Phalle |
Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. - Oscar Wilde |
When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. - Jackson Pollock |
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. - Pablo Picasso |
Everything you can imagine is real. - Pablo Picasso |
To draw you must close your eyes and sing. - Pablo Picasso |
The public wants to understand and learn in a single day, a single minute, what the artist has spent years learning. - Paul Gauguin |
It's not your painting anymore. It stopped being your painting the moment that you finished it. - Jeff Melvoin |
A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires. - Hedy Lamarr |
Painting is the aesthetic side of the object but it has never been original, has never been its own goal. Kazimir Malevich |
Painting will have to deal more fully and less obliquely with life and nature's phenomena before it can again become great. Edward Hopper |
Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings. - George Tooker |
What art is, in reality, is this missing link, not the links which exist. It’s not what you see that is art; art is the gap. - Marcel Duchamp |
Painting does what we cannot do - it brings a three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional plane. Chuck Jones |
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way - things I had no words for. - Georgia O’Keeffe |
Painting is an essentially concrete art and can only consist of the representation of real and existing things. Gustave Courbet |
I paint for myself. I don’t know how to do anything else, anyway. Also I have to earn my living, and occupy myself. - Francis Bacon |
I’m never finished with my paintings; the further I get, the more I seek the impossible and the more powerless I feel. - Claude Monet |
It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important than the feeling for pictures. - Vincent Van Gogh |
Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech. - Painting Thoughts by Simonides Download or Share |
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. - Twyla Tharp Download or Share |
Painting is a source of endless pleasure, but also of great anguish. - Painting Quotes in English by Balthus Download or Share |
I shut my eyes in order to see. - Paul Gauguin Download or Share |
Each painting has its own way of evolving.... When the painting is finished, the subject reaveals itself. - William Baziotes |
Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do. Edgar Degas Download or Share |
Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality. Salvador Dali Download or Share |
Painting is a nail to which I fasten my ideas. - Georges Braque Download or Share |
Painting: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic. - Painting Quotes by Ambrose Bierce Download or Share |
For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh. Georges Rouault Download or Share |
If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. - Painting Quotes by Michelangelo Download or Share |
There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun. - Pablo Picasso |
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. - Pablo Picasso |
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary. - Pablo Picasso |
Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen. Pablo Picasso |
Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun. - Pablo Picasso |
The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands. - Leonardo da Vinci |
The painter will produce pictures of little merit if he takes the works of others as his standard. - Leonardo da Vinci |
Painting is concerned with all the 10 attributes of sight; which are: Darkness, Light, Solidity and Colour, Form and Position, Distance and Propinquity, Motion and Rest. Leonardo da Vinci |
A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light. - Leonardo da Vinci |
Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. - Leonardo da Vinci |
One must spoil as many canvases as one succeeds with. - Vincent Van Gogh Thought |
There is no blue without yellow and without orange. - Vincent Van Gogh |
If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud. - Emile Zola |
The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. - Robert Hughes |
Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art. - Neil Gaiman |
I love to look at art, I love to look at paintings, and I almost feel like the experience isn’t complete until I’ve made something of my own. - Cecily Brown |
A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people. - Edgar Degas |
It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done. - Vincent Van Gogh |
If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. - Vincent Van Gogh |
Color is my daylong obsession, joy, and torment. - Claude Monet |
It is only after years of preparation that the young artist should touch color – not color used descriptively, that is, but as a means of personal expression. - Henri Matisse |
