--- title: "12 Know Paint Quotes by 10 authors" description: "Browse 12 Know Paint quotes by 10 authors. Discover the best Know Paint sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/frida-kahlo-7157_art-and-artists_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_2941703.jpg" --- > [The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/frida-kahlo-7157_art-and-artists_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_2941703.jpg) > [It's such an extraordinary supple medium that you never do quite know what paint will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium-that-you-never-do-quite-know/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/francis-bacon-297_artist_it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium_2348177.jpg) > [I did not know how to paint or even what to paint, but I knew I had to begin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what-to-paint-but-i-knew-i-had-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/margaret-atwood-40_paint_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what_1751540.jpg) > [I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-did-not-know-how-to-prepare-the/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/maurice-sendak-1273_advise_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-di_2567545.jpg) > [I do not know myself how I paint it. I sit down with a white board before the spot that strikes me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-do-not-know-myself-how-i-paint-it-i-sit-down-with-a-white-board/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_i-do-not-know-myself-how-i-paint-it-i-si_2836507.jpg) > [You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the-paint-across-the-canvas-how/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg) > [I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/frida-kahlo-7157_paint_i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i_2231405.jpg) > [The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to-and-i-paint/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e24/frida-kahlo-7157_art_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_3010498.jpg) > [I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well-you-need-to-look-at-it-every/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well_1574772.png) > [“Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his individual actions properly. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-general-towards-some-definite/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg) > [When I first painted a number of canvases grey all over (about eight years ago), I did so because I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvases-grey-all-over-about-eight/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/gerhard-richter-2249_art_when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvase_1330819.jpg) > [“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-way-you-live-that-predisposes/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/robert-m-pirsig-817_artist_you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-wa_190940.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-paint/#itemlist", "name": "Know Paint Quotes", "numberOfItems": 12, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frida Kahlo" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/frida-kahlo-7157_art-and-artists_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_2941703.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/frida-kahlo-7157_art-and-artists_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_2941703.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/frida-kahlo-7157_art-and-artists_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_2941703.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.” — Frida Kahlo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's such an extraordinary supple medium that you never do quite know what paint will do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Bacon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium-that-you-never-do-quite-know/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/francis-bacon-297_artist_it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium_2348177.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/francis-bacon-297_artist_it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium_2348177.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/francis-bacon-297_artist_it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium_2348177.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's such an extraordinary supple medium that you never do quite know what paint will do.” — Francis Bacon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I did not know how to paint or even what to paint, but I knew I had to begin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what-to-paint-but-i-knew-i-had-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/margaret-atwood-40_paint_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what_1751540.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/margaret-atwood-40_paint_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what_1751540.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/margaret-atwood-40_paint_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what_1751540.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I did not know how to paint or even what to paint, but I knew I had to begin.” — Margaret Atwood", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from the Renaissance around who could advise me, and I did the best I could.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maurice Sendak" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-did-not-know-how-to-prepare-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/maurice-sendak-1273_advise_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-di_2567545.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/maurice-sendak-1273_advise_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-di_2567545.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/maurice-sendak-1273_advise_i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-di_2567545.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from the…” — Maurice Sendak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I do not know myself how I paint it. I sit down with a white board before the spot that strikes me. I look at what is before my eyes, and say to myself, that white board must become something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vincent Van Gogh" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-do-not-know-myself-how-i-paint-it-i-sit-down-with-a-white-board/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_i-do-not-know-myself-how-i-paint-it-i-si_2836507.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_i-do-not-know-myself-how-i-paint-it-i-si_2836507.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/vincent-van-gogh-486_artist_i-do-not-know-myself-how-i-paint-it-i-si_2836507.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do not know myself how I paint it. I sit down with a white board before the spot that strikes me. I look…” — Vincent Van Gogh", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back after you've finished, you say, 'This one is not so good. This one is good.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ridley Scott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the-paint-across-the-canvas-how/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back…” — Ridley Scott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frida Kahlo" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/frida-kahlo-7157_paint_i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i_2231405.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/frida-kahlo-7157_paint_i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i_2231405.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/frida-kahlo-7157_paint_i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i_2231405.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes…” — Frida Kahlo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frida Kahlo" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to-and-i-paint/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e24/frida-kahlo-7157_art_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_3010498.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e24/frida-kahlo-7157_art_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_3010498.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e24/frida-kahlo-7157_art_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_3010498.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without…” — Frida Kahlo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the same place so that you can understand its way in that particular spot; and that is why I am working on the same motifs over and over again, four or six times even.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claude Monet" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well-you-need-to-look-at-it-every/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well_1574772.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well_1574772.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well_1574772.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the same place…” — Claude Monet", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his individual actions properly. It is impossible to put the pieces together if you do not have in your head the idea of the whole. What is the use of providing yourself with paints if you do not know what to paint? No man sketches out a definite plan for his life; we only determine bits of it. The bowman must first know what he is aiming at: then he has to prepare hand, bow, bowstring, arrow and his drill to that end. Our projects go astray because they are not addressed to a target.16 No wind is right for a seaman who has no predetermined harbour.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-general-towards-some-definite/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his…” — Michel de Montaigne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first painted a number of canvases grey all over (about eight years ago), I did so because I did not know what to paint, or what there might be to paint: so wretched a start could lead to nothing meaningful. As time went on, however, I observed differences of quality among the grey surfaces - and also that these betrayed nothing of the destructive motivation that lay behind them. The pictures began to teach me. By generalizing a personal dilemma, they resolved it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerhard Richter" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvases-grey-all-over-about-eight/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/gerhard-richter-2249_art_when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvase_1330819.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/gerhard-richter-2249_art_when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvase_1330819.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/gerhard-richter-2249_art_when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvase_1330819.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I first painted a number of canvases grey all over (about eight years ago), I did so because I did not…” — Gerhard Richter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right facts. You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It’s easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally. That’s the way all the experts do it. The making of a painting or the fixing of a motorcycle isn’t separate from the rest of your existence. If you’re a sloppy thinker the six days of the week you aren’t working on your machine, what trap avoidance, what gimmicks, can make you all of a sudden sharp on the seventh? It all goes together ... The real cycle you're working in is a cycle called yourself. The machine that appears to be \"out there\" and the person that appears to be \"in here\" are not two separate things. They grow toward Quality or fall away from Quality together.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. Pirsig" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-way-you-live-that-predisposes/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/robert-m-pirsig-817_artist_you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-wa_190940.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/robert-m-pirsig-817_artist_you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-wa_190940.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/robert-m-pirsig-817_artist_you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-wa_190940.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the…” — Robert M. Pirsig", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-paint/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-paint/", "name": "Know Paint Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-paint/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/frida-kahlo-7157_art-and-artists_the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-be_2941703.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 12 Know Paint quotes by 10 authors. 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