--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve had so many influences and sources…" description: "\"“I’ve had so many influences and sources of inspiration as an illustrator that it is impossible to name just one. I loved Aubrey Beardsley when I was a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/alan-lee-29219_art_i-ve-had-so-many-influences-and-sources_713658.png" --- # I’ve had so many influences and sources of inspiration as… ![“I’ve had so many influences and sources of inspiration as an illustrator that it is impossible to name just one. I loved Aubrey Beardsley when I was a student, and then Edmund Dulac and other Golden Age illustrators made a big impact, as well as Victorian painters like Richard Dadd and Edward…” quote by Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/alan-lee-29219_art_i-ve-had-so-many-influences-and-sources_713658.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/alan-lee-29219_art_i-ve-had-so-many-influences-and-sources_713658.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36c/alan-lee-29219_art_i-ve-had-so-many-influences-and-sources_713658.png) > ““I’ve had so many influences and sources of inspiration as an illustrator that it is impossible to name just one. I loved Aubrey Beardsley when I was a student, and then Edmund Dulac and other Golden Age illustrators made a big impact, as well as Victorian painters like Richard Dadd and Edward Burne-Jones. My long-term heroes though are Albretch Durer, Brueghel, Hieronymous Bosch, Jan Van Eyck, Leonardo, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Turner and Degas. What most of them have in common is brilliant draughtsmanship and a strong linear or graphic quality. Most are also printmakers. The one I keep going back to and who fascinates me the most is JMW Turner, the greatest watercolourist.”” [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He credits many historic artists for his style, emphasizing the importance of studying masters for skill development. **In simple terms:** Studying past artists improves one’s own work. Key Takeaway Study masters to enhance your craft. Themes artistic influence study mastery Mood inspirational thoughtful Type educational reflective When to use this quote - art school - personal practice - creative inspiration Key Concepts art history technique visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - Which master influences you most? - How can you blend tradition with innovation? A Different Perspective Focusing only on past masters may limit originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Big impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-impact/) [Golden age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-age/) [Illustrators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illustrators/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [I'm definitely influenced by lots of different things - from music, from reading, from I don't know... I have a lot of different sources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marko-djurdjevic/i-m-definitely-influenced-by-lots-of-different-things-from-music-from/) [Marko Djurdjevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marko-djurdjevic/) > [The peacock has become one of my regular sources of inspiration from nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-williamson/the-peacock-has-become-one-of-my-regular-sources-of-inspiration-from/) [Matthew Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-williamson/) > [I have many sources of inspiration. I'd have to point to Dr. Martin Luther King, first and foremost. But my parents were good, hardworking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-have-many-sources-of-inspiration-i-d-have-to-point-to-dr-martin/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Well, we look for sources of inspiration in pop culture in general. It's very important for us that, when it comes to storytelling, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lake/well-we-look-for-sources-of-inspiration-in-pop-culture-in-general-it/) [Sam Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lake/) > [My ideas and creativity are the sources of inspiration for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yayoi-kusama/my-ideas-and-creativity-are-the-sources-of-inspiration-for-me/) [Yayoi Kusama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yayoi-kusama/) > [“Learn to encourage and motivate yourself without the influence of outside sources of inspiration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/learn-to-encourage-and-motivate-yourself-without-the-influence-of/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“It is probably better that the world knows only the result, not the conditions under which it was achieved; because knowledge of the artist’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/it-is-probably-better-that-the-world-knows-only-the-result-not-the/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [There's a whole range of sources of inspiration for the drawings and stories. They come from dreams, hallucinations, pop songs, or other things I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mcginness/there-s-a-whole-range-of-sources-of-inspiration-for-the-drawings-and/) Ryan McGinness > [Family, community, and the realm of the private self - your mind, body, and spirit - are all important sources of the inspiration, support,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-d-friedman/family-community-and-the-realm-of-the-private-self-your-mind-body-and/) [Stewart D. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-d-friedman/) > [The sources of inspiration from my travels have been unending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabal-gurung/the-sources-of-inspiration-from-my-travels-have-been-unending/) [Prabal Gurung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prabal-gurung/) > [Personally, one of the greatest sources of inspiration for my work has been architecture. I've had the chance to see so many exquisite structures,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/personally-one-of-the-greatest-sources-of-inspiration-for-my-work-has/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [The opportunity should not be lost, which is afforded by the occasion, for illustrating and enforcing the thought that the universe, its creation, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-s-draper/the-opportunity-should-not-be-lost-which-is-afforded-by-the-occasion/) Andrew S. Draper > [Bloggers and other flavors of lone wolf are publishing heart-wrenching photo-essays from the front line of the recovery effort. Newspapers and TV networks? They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-bray/bloggers-and-other-flavors-of-lone-wolf-are-publishing-heart/) [Tim Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-bray/) > [One of the concepts I was having trouble illustrating was the concept that administrative systems create narrow categories of gender and force people into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/one-of-the-concepts-i-was-having-trouble-illustrating-was-the-concept/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) ## More by Alan Lee > [I spend as much time as I can sketching from nature, Dartmoor contains such a rich variety of landscape, as many boulders, foaming rivers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-spend-as-much-time-as-i-can-sketching-from-nature-dartmoor-contains/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I have a very clear memory of my first encounter with myth, sitting in a mobile library and travelling, at the same time, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-have-a-very-clear-memory-of-my-first-encounter-with-myth-sitting-in/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“When I started to draw, most of my influences were from other painters and illustrators, so I was drawing landscape at second hand, really.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/when-i-started-to-draw-most-of-my-influences-were-from-other-painters/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I've been strongly influenced, in technique as well as subject matter, by some of the early 20th-century book illustrators — Arthur Rackham and Edmund…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-ve-been-strongly-influenced-in-technique-as-well-as-subject-matter/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“A lot of excellent illustrators are working at the moment--especially in fantasy and children's books. It is exciting also to see graphic artists such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/a-lot-of-excellent-illustrators-are-working-at-the-moment-especially/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“There is a storytelling element in there. The tango form is a little like the blues in that you have a kind of structure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/there-is-a-storytelling-element-in-there-the-tango-form-is-a-little/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [To draw a tree, to pay such close attention to every aspect of a tree, is an act of reverence not only toward the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/to-draw-a-tree-to-pay-such-close-attention-to-every-aspect-of-a-tree/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“Many of the most popular children's stories have their roots in tales invented for particular children, and this casual, often serendipitous, approach produces a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/many-of-the-most-popular-children-s-stories-have-their-roots-in-tales/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“Never let yourself get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired, otherwise you’ll do something you’ll regret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/never-let-yourself-get-too-hungry-angry-lonely-or-tired-otherwise-you/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [The power of both myth and art is this magical ability to open doors, to make connections — not only between us and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/the-power-of-both-myth-and-art-is-this-magical-ability-to-open-doors/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I like to work in watercolor, with as little under-drawing as I can get away with. I like the unpredictability of a medium which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-like-to-work-in-watercolor-with-as-little-under-drawing-as-i-can/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [I keep drawing the trees, the rocks, the river, I'm still learning how to see them; I'm still discovering how to render their forms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-keep-drawing-the-trees-the-rocks-the-river-i-m-still-learning-how/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I first read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit when I was eighteen. It felt as though the author had taken every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-first-read-the-lord-of-the-rings-and-the-hobbit-when-i-was-eighteen/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I often don’t have a clear idea of what I am going to be drawing when I start, unless it is for a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-often-don-t-have-a-clear-idea-of-what-i-am-going-to-be-drawing-when/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) > [“I believe that we need good tale-tellers now, as much as we did when the oral tradition was the only way that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-believe-that-we-need-good-tale-tellers-now-as-much-as-we-did-when/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) [Explore all 18 Alan Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lee/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’ve had so many influences and sources of inspiration as an illustrator that it is impossible to name just one. 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