--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Painting cannot be the only activity of a…" description: "\"Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist.\" — Ad Reinhardt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/ad-reinhardt-22386_activity_painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of_668976.png" --- # Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist. ![“Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist.” quote by Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/ad-reinhardt-22386_activity_painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of_668976.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/ad-reinhardt-22386_activity_painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of_668976.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/ad-reinhardt-22386_activity_painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of_668976.png) > “Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist.” [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mature artists must engage in diverse creative pursuits beyond painting. **In simple terms:** Artists need more than just painting. Key Takeaway Explore multiple art forms. Themes creativity growth discipline Mood reflective encouraging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artist residencies - personal projects - educational workshops Key Concepts artistic exploration multidisciplinary practice Questions to Reflect On - What new medium excites you? - How does diversification affect your artistic voice? A Different Perspective Focusing on many mediums may dilute mastery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Activity Mature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity-mature-5315035/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mature/) [Mature Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mature-artist-867478/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-activity-5315034/) ## Related quotes > [A mature artist is at the same time aware of the futility of his achievement and the validity of the pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-helion/a-mature-artist-is-at-the-same-time-aware-of-the-futility-of-his/) [Jean Helion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-helion/) > [“A young artist's career is a matter of claiming a place for oneself, of saying, "I am here." Having gone through that phase, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wafaa-bilal/a-young-artist-s-career-is-a-matter-of-claiming-a-place-for-oneself/) [Wafaa Bilal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wafaa-bilal/) > [ I think as a mature artist, you're probably always trying to undo the compromises of one's self \[in general\]. It's not necessarily to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/i-think-as-a-mature-artist-you-re-probably-always-trying-to-undo-the/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [Only the mature artist who works from a model is capable of seeing the body for itself, only he has the opportunity for prolonged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pearlstein/only-the-mature-artist-who-works-from-a-model-is-capable-of-seeing/) [Philip Pearlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pearlstein/) > [I want to be a mature artist with a different kind of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/i-want-to-be-a-mature-artist-with-a-different-kind-of-thinking/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) > [The immature artist imitates. The mature artist steals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/the-immature-artist-imitates-the-mature-artist-steals/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) [Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/) > [The process of maturing is an art to be learned, an effort to be sustained. By the age of fifty you have made yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/the-process-of-maturing-is-an-art-to-be-learned-an-effort-to-be/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [A mature mind is one who understands the impossibility of knowing the ultimate, and with this understanding there is a new dimension: the dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-mature-mind-is-one-who-understands-the-impossibility-of-knowing-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [They always say girls mature faster than boys, but I don't think that's true because I think girls just are more mature than boys.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-reiner/they-always-say-girls-mature-faster-than-boys-but-i-don-t-think-that/) [Rob Reiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-reiner/) > [I like to think I'm a very mature person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-courtney/i-like-to-think-i-m-a-very-mature-person/) [Joel Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-courtney/) > [Software will get to be somewhat more mature, ah, but it will never be as predictable as most areas of engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-will-get-to-be-somewhat-more-mature-ah-but-it-will-never-be/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) ## More by Ad Reinhardt > [Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-idea-a-good-artist-does-not/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Art is not the spiritual side of business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/art-is-not-the-spiritual-side-of-business/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [There is a black which is old and a black which is fresh. Lustrous black and dull black, black in sunlight and black in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/there-is-a-black-which-is-old-and-a-black-which-is-fresh-lustrous/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [We all name ourselves. We call ourselves artists. Nobody asks us. Nobody says you are or you aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/we-all-name-ourselves-we-call-ourselves-artists-nobody-asks-us-nobody/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [My paintings are the last paintings one can make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/my-paintings-are-the-last-paintings-one-can-make/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [I tried to oppose the academic to the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-tried-to-oppose-the-academic-to-the-marketplace/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The only and one way to say what abstract art or art-as-art is, is to say what it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-only-and-one-way-to-say-what-abstract-art-or-art-as-art-is-is-to/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-thousand-words-the-hell-with-it/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [If some student came up and wanted to know where to study painting, you'd want to suggest someplace, but there's no place. I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/if-some-student-came-up-and-wanted-to-know-where-to-study-painting/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [An artist who dedicates his life to art, burdens his art with his life, and his life with his art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/an-artist-who-dedicates-his-life-to-art-burdens-his-art-with-his-life/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [I want to emphasize the idea of black as intellectuality and conventionality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-want-to-emphasize-the-idea-of-black-as-intellectuality-and/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Art is too serious to be taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/art-is-too-serious-to-be-taken-seriously/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The artist should once and forever emancipate himself from the bondage of appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-artist-should-once-and-forever-emancipate-himself-from-the/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The job at Brooklyn is interesting because Brooklyn reflects what happened to university art departments everywhere. It might be the worst department now, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-job-at-brooklyn-is-interesting-because-brooklyn-reflects-what/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) [Explore all 27 Ad Reinhardt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ad Reinhardt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of-a-mature-artist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of-a-mature-artist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/ad-reinhardt-22386_activity_painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of_668976.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/ad-reinhardt-22386_activity_painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of_668976.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/ad-reinhardt-22386_activity_painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of_668976.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist.” — Ad Reinhardt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ad Reinhardt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Painting cannot be the only activity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of-a-mature-artist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of-a-mature-artist/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```