--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started to draw, most of my…" description: "\"“When I started to draw, most of my influences were from other painters and illustrators, so I was drawing landscape at second hand, really. The trees ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/alan-lee-29219_artist_when-i-started-to-draw-most-of-my-influe_1066991.jpg" --- # When I started to draw, most of my influences were from… ![“When I started to draw, most of my influences were from other painters and illustrators, so I was drawing landscape at second hand, really. The trees were Rackham trees, or trees that I had seen in paintings rather than from my own observation...and I started to feel this was a real lack in my…” quote by Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/alan-lee-29219_artist_when-i-started-to-draw-most-of-my-influe_1066991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/alan-lee-29219_artist_when-i-started-to-draw-most-of-my-influe_1066991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/alan-lee-29219_artist_when-i-started-to-draw-most-of-my-influe_1066991.jpg) > ““When I started to draw, most of my influences were from other painters and illustrators, so I was drawing landscape at second hand, really. The trees were Rackham trees, or trees that I had seen in paintings rather than from my own observation...and I started to feel this was a real lack in my work. Everything was too generalised, and not based on real experience. Then in 1975, after having worked for some years in London as a book cover illustrator mainly, I came down to Devon and stayed with some friends up on the moor. In the course of this one weekend, wandering around the moor, finding rivers and ancient woods, I realised that everything that I would ever want to draw was actually here. There was so much richness in the texture and forms of these fantastic trees...and I decided in the course of that weekend to come and live here. I looked at a couple of houses, found one, and made an offer on it, all in that one weekend!”” [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. The artist realized that direct observation of nature provides richer, more authentic inspiration than relying on second‑hand images, prompting a life‑changing move to the countryside. **In simple terms:** Seeing real landscapes fuels genuine creativity. Key Takeaway Seek direct experience to deepen artistic work. Themes creativity observation environment inspiration Mood reflective motivational inspirational Type statement personal narrative When to use this quote - artist’s studio - field sketching - relocation for inspiration - nature immersion Key Concepts authenticity personal growth place‑based art Questions to Reflect On - What environments spark your most authentic ideas? - How can you incorporate more direct observation into your practice? A Different Perspective Relying solely on references can limit originality and depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Draw Influences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw-influences-1199466/) [Drawing Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing-landscape-2637234/) [Influences Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influences-painters-2637237/) [Rackham Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rackham-trees-2637236/) [Second hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-hand/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Rackham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-rackham-2637233/) [Wandering around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wandering-around/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a big fan of '70s records where artists could draw on whatever influences they wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deana-carter/i-m-a-big-fan-of-70s-records-where-artists-could-draw-on-whatever/) [Deana Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deana-carter/) > [I often look at women who wear great jeans and high heels and nice little T-shirts wandering around the city ,and I think, 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-often-look-at-women-who-wear-great-jeans-and-high-heels-and-nice/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [“When we reached the lobby outside the office, moving like a pair of power walkers--no running in the halls of Green Pastures because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-juby/when-we-reached-the-lobby-outside-the-office-moving-like-a-pair-of/) [Susan Juby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-juby/) > [When I started working, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, in that I was just wandering around, hoping that I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-garner/when-i-started-working-i-didn-t-have-a-clue-what-i-was-doing-in-that/) [James Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-garner/) > [The classical allusions and the Platonic disquisitions on beauty are no longer a form of cover, but integral to Aschenbach's complex sexuality. 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I’m a lunatic wandering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-m-not-a-romantic-i-m-a-half-wit-only-stupid-people-would-think-i-m/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“I pretended not to notice, but Dad looked sort of deflated there on the edge of my bed. A lost, even humbled look was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/i-pretended-not-to-notice-but-dad-looked-sort-of-deflated-there-on/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“A ten-year-old Amanda wandering around the sights and sounds of a carnival. Trying to take it all in as such an event was much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/a-ten-year-old-amanda-wandering-around-the-sights-and-sounds-of-a/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) > [a few days ago she had been wandering around with a swatch of black silk tied over her eyes. Syrio was teaching her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-few-days-ago-she-had-been-wandering-around-with-a-swatch-of-black/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Well, the first time I met The Beatles was through my former boyfriend, Klaus Voormann, who saw them one night when he was wandering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/astrid-kirchherr/well-the-first-time-i-met-the-beatles-was-through-my-former-boyfriend/) [Astrid Kirchherr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/astrid-kirchherr/) > [Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts, just wandering around in my own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-get-lost-in-my-thoughts-just-wandering-around-in-my-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There was a lot of playing by myself, wearing last year's Halloween costume and wandering around the yard talking to myself - which may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-mays/there-was-a-lot-of-playing-by-myself-wearing-last-year-s-halloween/) [Jefferson Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-mays/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More by Alan Lee > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lee/i-ve-had-so-many-influences-and-sources-of-inspiration-as-an/) [Alan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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/) > [“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. 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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 Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. 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I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When I started to draw, most of my influences were from other painters and illustrators, so I was drawing landscape at second hand, really. The trees were Rackham trees, or trees that I had seen in paintings rather than from my own observation...and I started to feel this was a real lack in my work. Everything was too generalised, and not based on real experience. Then in 1975, after having worked for some years in London as a book cover illustrator mainly, I came down to Devon and stayed with some friends up on the moor. 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