--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a student I thought there was a…" description: "\"“As a student I thought there was a formula of some kind that I would get hold of somewhere, and thereby become and artist. There is a formula, but it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/andrew-loomis-36975_art_as-a-student-i-thought-there-was-a-formu_721537.jpg" --- # As a student I thought there was a formula of some kind… ![“As a student I thought there was a formula of some kind that I would get hold of somewhere, and thereby become and artist. There is a formula, but it has not been in books. It is really plain old courage, standing on one's own feet, and forever seeking enlightenment; courage to develop your way…” quote by Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/andrew-loomis-36975_art_as-a-student-i-thought-there-was-a-formu_721537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/andrew-loomis-36975_art_as-a-student-i-thought-there-was-a-formu_721537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/andrew-loomis-36975_art_as-a-student-i-thought-there-was-a-formu_721537.jpg) > ““As a student I thought there was a formula of some kind that I would get hold of somewhere, and thereby become and artist. There is a formula, but it has not been in books. It is really plain old courage, standing on one's own feet, and forever seeking enlightenment; courage to develop your way, but learning from the other fellow; experimentation with your own ideas, observing for yourself, a rigid discipline of doing over that which you can improve.”” [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True artistic growth comes from personal courage, self‑directed experimentation, and disciplined practice rather than a fixed formula. **In simple terms:** Art requires courage, self‑experiment, and discipline. Key Takeaway Cultivate courage and disciplined self‑learning. Themes creativity discipline self‑growth Mood inspired determined Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - art school - personal projects - career development - skill refinement Key Concepts courage experimentation learning from peers Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance guidance with personal experimentation? - What habits foster continual artistic improvement? A Different Perspective A formula can provide structure but may limit originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Courage Develop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage-develop-2896019/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Enlightenment Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment-courage-2871269/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Student Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/student-thought-585394/) [Thought Formula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-formula-5670458/) ## Related quotes > [The courage to be as oneself within the atmosphere of Enlightenment is the courage to affirm oneself as a bridge from a lower to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/the-courage-to-be-as-oneself-within-the-atmosphere-of-enlightenment/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [When I was a young student, I thought grow-ups would come and make things work. 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To try to have, try to learn to treat each other fairly, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/my-hope-is-that-we-develop-enough-courage-to-develop-courage-to-try/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Courage - you develop courage by doing small things like just as if you wouldn't want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-you-develop-courage-by-doing-small-things-like-just-as-if-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [It is not the courage to be that we must develop as much as the courage to become. We are responsible for our destiny.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/it-is-not-the-courage-to-be-that-we-must-develop-as-much-as-the/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Cold calculation, random spots of color, mathematically exact construction (clearly shown or concealed), drawing that is now silent and now strident . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-puccini/cold-calculation-random-spots-of-color-mathematically-exact/) [Giacomo Puccini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-puccini/) > [Keep a bad drawing until by study you have found out why it is bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/keep-a-bad-drawing-until-by-study-you-have-found-out-why-it-is-bad/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [The big problem for comic art is you don't want to overwork it. If a drawing is overworked it isn't funny. It's the spontaneity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sorel/the-big-problem-for-comic-art-is-you-don-t-want-to-overwork-it-if-a/) [Edward Sorel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sorel/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [It is the common defect of modern art study. Too many students do not know why they draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/it-is-the-common-defect-of-modern-art-study-too-many-students-do-not/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) > [My drawing not that goog but alwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/my-drawing-not-that-goog-but-alwell/) [Slowly\_fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slowly-fading/) > [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/) > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Andrew Loomis > [To any man who has slaved to acquire skill in his art, it is most irritating to have his ability referred to as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/to-any-man-who-has-slaved-to-acquire-skill-in-his-art-it-is-most/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [Art without color would lose much of its purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/art-without-color-would-lose-much-of-its-purpose/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [“It is ten per cent how you draw, and ninety per cent what you draw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/it-is-ten-per-cent-how-you-draw-and-ninety-per-cent-what-you-draw/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [“No "knack" of drawing heads can compete with sound knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/no-knack-of-drawing-heads-can-compete-with-sound-knowledge/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [Observation and study are necessary to achieve mastery of light and form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/observation-and-study-are-necessary-to-achieve-mastery-of-light-and/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [ If you intend to make a living at drawing, by all means learn it \[the rules of perspective\] now, and do not have them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/if-you-intend-to-make-a-living-at-drawing-by-all-means-learn-it-the/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [A head is not drawn until you can feel the unseen side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/a-head-is-not-drawn-until-you-can-feel-the-unseen-side/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [I feel that talent means little unless coupled with an insatiable desire to give an excellent personal demonstration of ability...talent must be in company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/i-feel-that-talent-means-little-unless-coupled-with-an-insatiable/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [The difficulties of not knowing are always much greater than the effort of learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/the-difficulties-of-not-knowing-are-always-much-greater-than-the/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [To learn to draw is to draw and draw and draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/to-learn-to-draw-is-to-draw-and-draw-and-draw/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) > [“I have never found a book that stressed the importance of myself as a caretaker of my ability, of staying healthy mentally and physically,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-loomis/i-have-never-found-a-book-that-stressed-the-importance-of-myself-as-a/) [Andrew Loomis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) [Explore all 12 Andrew Loomis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-loomis/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“As a student I thought there was a formula of some kind that I would get hold of somewhere, and thereby become and artist. 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