Art Quotes
Wisdom from the world's greatest painters — famous artist quotes on colour, light, creativity and the daily practice of painting. A little inspiration for your next session at the easel.
Wisdom from the world's greatest painters — famous artist quotes on colour, light, creativity and the daily practice of painting. A little inspiration for your next session at the easel.
203 quotes
“A meter of green is greener in a painting than in nature.”
“A line is a dot that went for a walk.”
“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.”
“Colour possesses me. Colour and I are one. I am a painter.”
“One eye sees, the other feels.”
“Drawing is the art of taking a line for a walk.”
“Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.”
“The pain passes, but the beauty remains.”
“I've been forty years discovering that the queen of all colours is black.”
“One must from time to time attempt things that are beyond one's capacity.”
“The work of art must seize upon you, wrap you up in itself, carry you away. It is the means by which the artist conveys his passion.”
“Art is not made for anybody and is, at the same time, for everybody.”
“The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore the object must be eliminated from the picture.”
“Every true artist has been inspired more by the beauty of lines and colour and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture.”
“Paint the feeling of the thing, not the thing itself.”
“It's not about what you're looking at; it's about how you see it.”
“Without atmosphere a painting is nothing.”
“Choose only one master — Nature.”
“Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God.”
“Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know.”
“Of course you will say that I ought to be practical and ought to try and paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I will tell you a secret. I have tried and I have tried very hard, but I can't do it.”
“A work is finished when an artist realises he cannot add more with advantage.”
“Every painting is a conversation between you and the canvas — listen more than you talk.”
“Good painters are not born with talent; they are built by mileage at the easel.”
“Paint what you see, not what you think you see.”
“Loosen up, but don't be sloppy.”
“Have no fear of perfection — you'll never reach it.”
“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.”
“Every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí.”
“The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad.”
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