--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I was driven to paint portraits…" description: "\"I think I was driven to paint portraits to commit images of friends and family to memory. I have face blindness, and once a face is flattened out, I ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c4/chuck-close-4781_artist_i-think-i-was-driven-to-paint-portraits_686262.jpg" --- # I think I was driven to paint portraits to commit images… ![“I think I was driven to paint portraits to commit images of friends and family to memory. I have face blindness, and once a face is flattened out, I can remember it better.” quote by Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c4/chuck-close-4781_artist_i-think-i-was-driven-to-paint-portraits_686262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c4/chuck-close-4781_artist_i-think-i-was-driven-to-paint-portraits_686262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c4/chuck-close-4781_artist_i-think-i-was-driven-to-paint-portraits_686262.jpg) > “I think I was driven to paint portraits to commit images of friends and family to memory. I have face blindness, and once a face is flattened out, I can remember it better.” [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He paints portraits to preserve memories of loved ones, using his face‑blindness to aid recall. **In simple terms:** Portraits help remember faces despite blindness. Key Takeaway Use art to capture and retain personal memories. Themes memory art disability family portraiture Mood introspective creative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family gatherings - memory preservation - therapy Key Concepts neuroscience visual arts psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does art aid your memory? - What other methods could help? A Different Perspective Art may not fully substitute for personal interaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Blindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness/) [Blindness Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness-face-5419954/) [Commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commit/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-and-friends/) [Friends and family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-and-family/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-face-2297175/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-portraits-750211/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits/) [Portraits Commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits-commit-5419953/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I never wanted to be commissioned to paint portraits. I like to choose my own subject and make a character study from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dobell/i-never-wanted-to-be-commissioned-to-paint-portraits-i-like-to-choose/) [William Dobell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dobell/) > [People don't have time to wait for somebody to paint their portraits anymore. The money is in photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/people-don-t-have-time-to-wait-for-somebody-to-paint-their-portraits/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I hate to paint portraits! I hope never to paint another portrait in my life. Portraiture may be all right for a man in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-singer-sargent/i-hate-to-paint-portraits-i-hope-never-to-paint-another-portrait-in/) [John Singer Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-singer-sargent/) > [I do not care to paint portraits indoors. I cannot feel sympathetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-sorolla/i-do-not-care-to-paint-portraits-indoors-i-cannot-feel-sympathetic/) [Joaquin Sorolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-sorolla/) > [“I thought I locked away in my memory your face, your sounds when you came, but that was better than I remembered,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-thought-i-locked-away-in-my-memory-your-face-your-sounds-when-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I could just make you turn around, turn around and see me cry There's so much I need to say to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collins/i-wish-i-could-just-make-you-turn-around-turn-around-and-see-me-cry/) [Phil Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collins/) > [There is no remedy for memory, your face is like a melody. It never leaves my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/there-is-no-remedy-for-memory-your-face-is-like-a-melody-it-never/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [And there's no remedy For memory Your face is like a melody, It won't leave my head Your soul is haunting me And telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/and-there-s-no-remedy-for-memory-your-face-is-like-a-melody-it-won-t/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [A man cannot paint portraits till he has seen faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-man-cannot-paint-portraits-till-he-has-seen-faces/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Kenneth Hari does not paint portraits as they are but as he is. I feel he is hiding something from me. To board a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/kenneth-hari-does-not-paint-portraits-as-they-are-but-as-he-is-i-feel/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I wanted to translate from one flat surface to another.In fact, my learning disabilities controlled a lot of things. I don't recognize faces, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/i-wanted-to-translate-from-one-flat-surface-to-another-in-fact-my/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [In a portrait, you always leave part of yourself behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/in-a-portrait-you-always-leave-part-of-yourself-behind/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [In the past there were too many portraits of Chairman Mao in China. They were hung everywhere. That was not proper and it didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/in-the-past-there-were-too-many-portraits-of-chairman-mao-in-china/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) > [In 1984, I was contacted by Michael Taylor, who had won a commission from a sponsor and decided he would like to paint a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/in-1984-i-was-contacted-by-michael-taylor-who-had-won-a-commission/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Chuck Close > [While photography is the easiest medium in which to be competent, it is the hardest in which to develop an idiosyncratic personal vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/while-photography-is-the-easiest-medium-in-which-to-be-competent-it/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Never let anyone define what you are capable of by using parameters that don’t apply to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/never-let-anyone-define-what-you-are-capable-of-by-using-parameters/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Inspiration is highly overrated. If you sit around and wait for the clouds to part, it's not liable to ever happen. More often than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/inspiration-is-highly-overrated-if-you-sit-around-and-wait-for-the/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [There's something Zen-like about the way I work - it's like raking gravel in a Zen Buddhist garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/there-s-something-zen-like-about-the-way-i-work-it-s-like-raking/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [After a few days in hospital, I was thinking, Oh, gee - I raised in a church, Protestant upbringing which I'd rejected as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/after-a-few-days-in-hospital-i-was-thinking-oh-gee-i-raised-in-a/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Painting is the most magical of mediums. The transcendence is truly amazing to me every time I go to a museum and I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/painting-is-the-most-magical-of-mediums-the-transcendence-is-truly/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Every child should have a chance to feel special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/every-child-should-have-a-chance-to-feel-special/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [It's always a pleasure to talk about someone else's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/it-s-always-a-pleasure-to-talk-about-someone-else-s-work/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [I absolutely hate technology, and I'm computer illiterate, and I never use any labor-saving devices although I'm not convinced that a computer is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/i-absolutely-hate-technology-and-i-m-computer-illiterate-and-i-never/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [In the 7th grade, I made a 20-foot long mural of the Lewis and Clark Trail while we were studying that in history because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/in-the-7th-grade-i-made-a-20-foot-long-mural-of-the-lewis-and-clark/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Ease is the enemy of the artist. When things get too easy, you're in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/ease-is-the-enemy-of-the-artist-when-things-get-too-easy-you-re-in/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [I'm very learning-disabled, and I think it drove me to what I'm doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/i-m-very-learning-disabled-and-i-think-it-drove-me-to-what-i-m-doing/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [If it looks like art, chances are it's somebody else's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/if-it-looks-like-art-chances-are-it-s-somebody-else-s-art/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [Paintings can make you cry and it's just \*\*colored dirt\*\*.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/paintings-can-make-you-cry-and-it-s-just-colored-dirt/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [You don't have to reinvent the wheel every day. Today you will do what you did yesterday, and tomorrow you will do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/you-don-t-have-to-reinvent-the-wheel-every-day-today-you-will-do-what/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) [Explore all 106 Chuck Close quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) ## 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. 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 think I was driven to paint portraits to commit images of friends and family to memory. 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