--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and…" description: "\"I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. I'm better at drawing than I am at writing.\" — Claes Oldenburg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/claes-oldenburg-10596_drawing_i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-a_301203.png" --- # I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could… ![“I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. I'm better at drawing than I am at writing.” quote by Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/claes-oldenburg-10596_drawing_i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-a_301203.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/claes-oldenburg-10596_drawing_i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-a_301203.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/claes-oldenburg-10596_drawing_i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-a_301203.png) > “I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. I'm better at drawing than I am at writing.” [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges weaker writing skills but stronger drawing ability, highlighting personal creative strengths. **In simple terms:** Better at drawing than writing. Key Takeaway Focus on your artistic strengths. Themes self-awareness creativity skill assessment Mood reflective inspirational Type personal development creative When to use this quote - painting - illustration - design - teaching art Key Concepts artistic expression visual arts Questions to Reflect On - Which medium best conveys your ideas? - How can you integrate writing with drawing? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one skill may limit growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I design all my sets. With my tour and my album artwork, I co-design that with people who are better at drawing than me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paloma-faith/i-design-all-my-sets-with-my-tour-and-my-album-artwork-i-co-design/) [Paloma Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paloma-faith/) > [The first writing of the human being was drawing, not writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/the-first-writing-of-the-human-being-was-drawing-not-writing/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [I draw all the time. Drawing is my backbone. I don't think a painter has to be able to draw, I just think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-draw-all-the-time-drawing-is-my-backbone-i-don-t-think-a-painter/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I did the drawing and writing - for five years. I made a lot of short films the whole while and I made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrice-leconte/i-did-the-drawing-and-writing-for-five-years-i-made-a-lot-of-short/) [Patrice Leconte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrice-leconte/) > [ For me, the Bild-Dichtung \[image-poem\] is the ideal form, because the drawing process is constantly being interrupted or contrasted by the writing. And since… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-brus/for-me-the-bild-dichtung-image-poem-is-the-ideal-form-because-the/) [Gunter Brus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-brus/) > [I spent a lot of time being creative as a child - painting, drawing and writing poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-being-creative-as-a-child-painting-drawing-and/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) > [I enjoy the drawing more than the writing, so I try to think of ideas that will allow me to develop the visual side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-enjoy-the-drawing-more-than-the-writing-so-i-try-to-think-of-ideas/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I don't spend as much time drawing as I do writing and reading. That's the really work-intensive part. And by the time I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beaton/i-don-t-spend-as-much-time-drawing-as-i-do-writing-and-reading-that-s/) [Kate Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beaton/) > [The Journal is not essentially a confession, a story about oneself. It is a Memorial. What does the writer have to remember? Himself, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/the-journal-is-not-essentially-a-confession-a-story-about-oneself-it/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [You know, you get a bad review as a writer, you remember it for 10 years. You get a hundred good reviews, you forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/you-know-you-get-a-bad-review-as-a-writer-you-remember-it-for-10/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“A writer should remember that about his muse there is a great deal of the Siren. He should view his mental offspring as relentlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-l-lucas-2/a-writer-should-remember-that-about-his-muse-there-is-a-great-deal-of/) F.L. Lucas > [“‎Never say you can't be a writer or a script writer, remember how well, characters in your dreams said their dialogues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dipesh-nepal/never-say-you-can-t-be-a-writer-or-a-script-writer-remember-how-well/) Dipesh Nepal > [I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-ten-year/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I'm a 48-year-old writer who can remember being a 10-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an 80-year-old writer. I'm also comfortably asocial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-a-48-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-10-year-old-writer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're the director and the writer, you never have to remember your lines, and there's no one to call you on it. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/when-you-re-the-director-and-the-writer-you-never-have-to-remember/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) ## More by Claes Oldenburg > [I had no idea what art was. There was one art class in high school, but it didn't make a big impression on me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-had-no-idea-what-art-was-there-was-one-art-class-in-high-school-but/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am an immigrant in a sense. What happened was that my father was stationed in New York when my mother became pregnant, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-an-immigrant-in-a-sense-what-happened-was-that-my-father-was/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [My mother warned me to avoid things colored red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-mother-warned-me-to-avoid-things-colored-red/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I started to draw buildings. I called them Proposed Colossal Monuments - they weren't for real, not for actual building. It was more a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-started-to-draw-buildings-i-called-them-proposed-colossal-monuments/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Food is like clay; you can sculpt with it. Also it has an odor, and you can eat it. I don't eat a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/food-is-like-clay-you-can-sculpt-with-it-also-it-has-an-odor-and-you/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am for an art that tells you the time of day, or where such and such a street is. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-tells-you-the-time-of-day-or-where-such-and-such/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [“I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-imitates-the-human-that-is-comic-if-necessary-or/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [The art world was very small and the people got together at parties. There was less commercialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/the-art-world-was-very-small-and-the-people-got-together-at-parties/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [A life cycle can be imposed on an object. An object can be very energetic and active, and then it has a dying phase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/a-life-cycle-can-be-imposed-on-an-object-an-object-can-be-very/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t-find-it-as-interesting-as-i/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Actually, New York is great for playing around. I made a lot of studies for New York-a big vacuum cleaner lying on the Battery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/actually-new-york-is-great-for-playing-around-i-made-a-lot-of-studies/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I'm always careful to say that I changed everything I found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-m-always-careful-to-say-that-i-changed-everything-i-found/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [If you really want to be an artist, you search yourself, and you find a lot of it comes from earlier times. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/if-you-really-want-to-be-an-artist-you-search-yourself-and-you-find-a/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [ My work doesn't have the same rules as, say, Andy \[Warhol\]'s work. But it's gathered together for the simple reason that we all worked… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-work-doesn-t-have-the-same-rules-as-say-andy-warhol-s-work-but-it/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [My struggle has been to return painting to the tangible object, which is like returning the personality to touching and feeling the world around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-struggle-has-been-to-return-painting-to-the-tangible-object-which/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) [Explore all 64 Claes Oldenburg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## More Drawing quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [My drawing not that goog but alwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/my-drawing-not-that-goog-but-alwell/) Slowly\_fading > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [Being on a trapeze is like dreaming. I feel totally outside of myself when I'm flying. You know, designing shoes, my imagination is flying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/being-on-a-trapeze-is-like-dreaming-i-feel-totally-outside-of-myself/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [In 'Gran Torino,' Eastwood moves towards the climax of the movie not by staging a shoot-out, but by putting his weapons to one side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/in-gran-torino-eastwood-moves-towards-the-climax-of-the-movie-not-by/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [You've seen the first issue and what happened in the last page. Some pretty awful stuff. I don't know why I seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-shalvey/you-ve-seen-the-first-issue-and-what-happened-in-the-last-page-some/) [Declan Shalvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-shalvey/) > [David Shrigley is somewhere between stand-up comedy and cave paintings. He does these brilliant esoteric, simple drawings - you might even say bad drawings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-reid/david-shrigley-is-somewhere-between-stand-up-comedy-and-cave/) [Noah Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-reid/) Browse all 2,299 Drawing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. 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