--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would have loved to have been a painter…" description: "\"I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.\" — Ben Whishaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/ben-whishaw-13587_artist_i-would-have-loved-to-have-been-a-painte_520739.png" --- # I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor… ![“I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.” quote by Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/ben-whishaw-13587_artist_i-would-have-loved-to-have-been-a-painte_520739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/ben-whishaw-13587_artist_i-would-have-loved-to-have-been-a-painte_520739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f24/ben-whishaw-13587_artist_i-would-have-loved-to-have-been-a-painte_520739.png) > “I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.” [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire for artistic expression can persist even if one follows a different career path. **In simple terms:** He still admires art despite not being one. Key Takeaway Explore creative outlets alongside your main work. Themes art longing creativity career identity Mood nostalgic curious Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - hobby development - career reflection - personal fulfillment Key Concepts artistic aspiration self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - What artistic activity could you try now? - How does artistic admiration influence your life? A Different Perspective Creative pursuits may feel unattainable without formal training. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Sculptor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptor/) [Sculptors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptors/) ## Related quotes > [An actor should take lessons from a painter and a sculptor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/an-actor-should-take-lessons-from-a-painter-and-a-sculptor/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Every man is the painter and the sculptor of his own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/every-man-is-the-painter-and-the-sculptor-of-his-own-life/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [With a painter or a sculptor, one cannot begin to alter his works, but an architect has to put up with anything, because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-jacobsen/with-a-painter-or-a-sculptor-one-cannot-begin-to-alter-his-works-but/) [Arne Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-jacobsen/) > [Every man is a painter and the sculptor of his own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/every-man-is-a-painter-and-the-sculptor-of-his-own-life/) Pacifiersucker > [To become a painter or a sculptor or a graphic designer is quite an isolated way to spend your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/to-become-a-painter-or-a-sculptor-or-a-graphic-designer-is-quite-an/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [The only kind of sublimity which a painter or sculptor should aim at is to express by certain proportions and positions of limbs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-only-kind-of-sublimity-which-a-painter-or-sculptor-should-aim-at/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I'd have loved to be a painter, but I'm very mercurial, so it wouldn't have worked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-russell/i-d-have-loved-to-be-a-painter-but-i-m-very-mercurial-so-it-wouldn-t/) [Taylor Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-russell/) > [You can't understand how strange it was to be a sculptor who exhibited photographs. (On exhibitions of his earthworks and land art pieces.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-oppenheim/you-can-t-understand-how-strange-it-was-to-be-a-sculptor-who/) [Dennis Oppenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-oppenheim/) > [What can a sculptor do without the chisel and the hammer? And what can an impostor politician do without the ignorants and the uneducated?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-can-a-sculptor-do-without-the-chisel-and-the-hammer-and-what-can/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [In my view, the composer, just as the poet, the sculptor or the painter, is in duty bound to serve Man, the people. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/in-my-view-the-composer-just-as-the-poet-the-sculptor-or-the-painter/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [The sculptor represents the transition from one pose to another he indicates how insensibly the first glides into the second. In his work we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/the-sculptor-represents-the-transition-from-one-pose-to-another-he/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [It's very inconvenient being a sculptor. It's like playing the double-bass; one's so handicapped by one's baggage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/it-s-very-inconvenient-being-a-sculptor-it-s-like-playing-the-double/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Every young sculptor seems to think that he must give the world some specimen of indecorous womanhood, and call it Eve, Venus, a Nymph,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/every-young-sculptor-seems-to-think-that-he-must-give-the-world-some/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I'm an ice sculptor. Last night I made a cube.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-m-an-ice-sculptor-last-night-i-made-a-cube/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Carving is a source of joy to the artist. . . . To attack the raw material, gradually to extract a shape out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristide-maillol/carving-is-a-source-of-joy-to-the-artist-to-attack-the-raw-material/) Aristide Maillol ## More by Ben Whishaw > [I think that sometimes in theater, I don't prepare much beyond going to the rehearsals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-think-that-sometimes-in-theater-i-don-t-prepare-much-beyond-going/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [The thing about acting is that it's fairly random. At the end of the day you take what drifts past you or what's given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/the-thing-about-acting-is-that-it-s-fairly-random-at-the-end-of-the/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [As an actor, you have total rights to privacy and mystery, whatever your sexuality, whatever you do. I don't see why that has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/as-an-actor-you-have-total-rights-to-privacy-and-mystery-whatever/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I can be shy, but I’m not really. I try to be better at overcoming these things people have said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-can-be-shy-but-i-m-not-really-i-try-to-be-better-at-overcoming/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I don't have any ambition to make lots of money or win an Oscar or anything like that. It's not about that for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-don-t-have-any-ambition-to-make-lots-of-money-or-win-an-oscar-or/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I'm really hopeless with technology - I don't even have a computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-m-really-hopeless-with-technology-i-don-t-even-have-a-computer/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I used to collect knick-knacks, like wizards, trolls and little buddhas, and arrange them like precious things on a shelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-used-to-collect-knick-knacks-like-wizards-trolls-and-little-buddhas/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I'd like to have a go at directing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-d-like-to-have-a-go-at-directing/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [When you have a character to work with, you carry them around in a strange way - they make you look at the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/when-you-have-a-character-to-work-with-you-carry-them-around-in-a/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I think being very thin has had a lot to do with how I've been cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-think-being-very-thin-has-had-a-lot-to-do-with-how-i-ve-been-cast/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I wish that the arts were better supported, and you can't say that enough times, but I also believe that whatever happens, artists will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-wish-that-the-arts-were-better-supported-and-you-can-t-say-that/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [Even today, England is a very repressed, repressive country, and there's pressure to be kind of a certain way, so people do things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/even-today-england-is-a-very-repressed-repressive-country-and-there-s/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I'm not tortured and neurasthenic - I'm really not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-m-not-tortured-and-neurasthenic-i-m-really-not/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [I don’t think that actors are necessarily any more uncomfortable in their skin than anyone else. I suppose I feel more comfortable in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-don-t-think-that-actors-are-necessarily-any-more-uncomfortable-in/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [Filmmakers tell stories to explore human nature, which is always a flawed thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/filmmakers-tell-stories-to-explore-human-nature-which-is-always-a/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) [Explore all 50 Ben Whishaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) ## 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 > [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. 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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. 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": "I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. 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