--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always feel the desire to look for the…" description: "\"I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/balthus-35208_art_i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the_3218695.png" --- # I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in… ![“I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings.” quote by Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/balthus-35208_art_i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the_3218695.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/balthus-35208_art_i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the_3218695.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/balthus-35208_art_i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the_3218695.png) > “I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings.” [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages seeking wonder in everyday life and leaving mystery in art. **In simple terms:** Find magic in the ordinary. Key Takeaway Create with subtle mystery. Themes creativity observation artistic expression Mood contemplative curious Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - painting - design - everyday observation Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do you reveal mystery? - What ordinary moments inspire you? A Different Perspective Risk of ambiguity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/) [Extraordinary Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-ordinary/) [Feel Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-desire-1665306/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Mystery Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery-paintings-6042368/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Slight Touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slight-touch-1836970/) ## Related quotes > [Champions are champions not because they do anything extraordinary but because they do the ordinary things better than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/champions-are-champions-not-because-they-do-anything-extraordinary/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [“What is it? The ordinary is EXTRAORDINARY. The ordinary is extraordinary. The ordinary is the thing we want back when someone we love dies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/what-is-it-the-ordinary-is-extraordinary-the-ordinary-is/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [A slight touch at times I don't think it meant anything to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/a-slight-touch-at-times-i-don-t-think-it-meant-anything-to-you/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [A slight touch of friendly malice and amusement towards those we love keeps our affections for them from turning flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/a-slight-touch-of-friendly-malice-and-amusement-towards-those-we-love/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [The true call of a Christian is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-call-of-a-christian-is-not-to-do-extraordinary-things-but-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just happen to like ordinary things. When I paint them, I don't try to make them extraordinary. I just try to paint them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-just-happen-to-like-ordinary-things-when-i-paint-them-i-don-t-try/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [The young artist... will discover out of ordinary things the meaning of ordinariness. He will not try to make them extraordinary. Only their real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/the-young-artist-will-discover-out-of-ordinary-things-the-meaning-of/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [“At what point does another person's extraordinary become your ordinary?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-murphy/at-what-point-does-another-person-s-extraordinary-become-your-ordinary/) [Julie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-murphy/) > [“As Gideon always said in the opening of his act, There is always something extraordinary in the ordinary”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/as-gideon-always-said-in-the-opening-of-his-act-there-is-always/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [You can't always do the extraordinary, in between you have to do the ordinary. 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Being ordinary does not mean being a robotic slave to the social conformities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/it-is-only-by-being-ordinary-you-get-to-be-extraordinary-being/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wild-thing/finding-the-extraordinary-in-the-ordinary/) [Wild Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wild-thing/) > [It is extraordinary how extraordinary the ordinary person is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-extraordinary-how-extraordinary-the-ordinary-person-is/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [We tried to present the ordinary in an extraordinary manner. But that's the paradox because the only thing extraordinary about it was that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/we-tried-to-present-the-ordinary-in-an-extraordinary-manner-but-that/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-knisely/look-for-the-extraordinary-in-the-ordinary/) [Matthew Knisely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-knisely/) ## More by Balthus > [If you speak of beauty, you are at once suspected of...kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/if-you-speak-of-beauty-you-are-at-once-suspected-of-kitsch/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [I had only planned to strike the gong violently in order to somehow shake people up and make them more aware. I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-had-only-planned-to-strike-the-gong-violently-in-order-to-somehow/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [The craft of painting has virtually disappeared. There is hardly anyone left who really possesses it. For evidence one has only to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/the-craft-of-painting-has-virtually-disappeared-there-is-hardly/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [One must always draw, draw with the eyes, when one cannot draw with a pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/one-must-always-draw-draw-with-the-eyes-when-one-cannot-draw-with-a/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [The best way to begin is to say: 'Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. And now let us have a look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/the-best-way-to-begin-is-to-say-balthus-is-a-painter-of-whom-nothing/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [Painting what I experience, translating what I feel, is like a great liberation. But it is also work, self-examination, consciousness, criticism, struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/painting-what-i-experience-translating-what-i-feel-is-like-a-great/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [The best way to begin is to say: Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. And now let us have a look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/the-best-way-to-begin-is-to-say-balthus-is-a-painter-of-whom-nothing-2/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [I will always find even the worst paintings that attempt some kind of representation better than the best invented paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-will-always-find-even-the-worst-paintings-that-attempt-some-kind-of/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [Painting is a source of endless pleasure, but also of great anguish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/painting-is-a-source-of-endless-pleasure-but-also-of-great-anguish/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [I refuse to confide and don't like it when people write about art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-refuse-to-confide-and-don-t-like-it-when-people-write-about-art/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/painting-is-the-passage-from-the-chaos-of-the-emotions-to-the-order/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [Painting is a language which cannot be replaced by another language. I don't know what to say about what I paint, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/painting-is-a-language-which-cannot-be-replaced-by-another-language-i/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) [Explore all 13 Balthus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) ## 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": "I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Balthus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the-extraordinary-in-ordinary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the-extraordinary-in-ordinary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/balthus-35208_art_i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the_3218695.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/balthus-35208_art_i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the_3218695.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/balthus-35208_art_i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the_3218695.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to…” — Balthus", "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": "Balthus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always feel the desire to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the-extraordinary-in-ordinary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-always-feel-the-desire-to-look-for-the-extraordinary-in-ordinary/#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 } } ] } ```