--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to treat paint as material - to…" description: "\"I like to treat paint as material - to daub it, drop it, let it slide. There was Action Painting, but I also compare it to paint effects found on the s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f9/claes-oldenburg-10596_action_i-like-to-treat-paint-as-material-to-dau_2331375.jpg" --- # I like to treat paint as material - to daub it, drop it… ![“I like to treat paint as material - to daub it, drop it, let it slide. There was Action Painting, but I also compare it to paint effects found on the streets. This approach is superimposed on a sculptural surface that is also 'painterly.'” quote by Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f9/claes-oldenburg-10596_action_i-like-to-treat-paint-as-material-to-dau_2331375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f9/claes-oldenburg-10596_action_i-like-to-treat-paint-as-material-to-dau_2331375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f9/claes-oldenburg-10596_action_i-like-to-treat-paint-as-material-to-dau_2331375.jpg) > “I like to treat paint as material - to daub it, drop it, let it slide. There was Action Painting, but I also compare it to paint effects found on the streets. This approach is superimposed on a sculptural surface that is also 'painterly.'” [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 artist treats paint as a physical substance, manipulating it freely on a sculptural surface, blending painting and street aesthetics. **In simple terms:** Paint is used like a material, shaped and dropped on sculpture. Key Takeaway Embrace tactile experimentation with media. Themes art materiality process street art sculpture Mood experimental playful Type artistic processual When to use this quote - gallery installation - public murals - educational workshops - artist studios - creative brainstorming Key Concepts material theory expressive technique Questions to Reflect On - How does treating paint as material change viewer perception? - What challenges arise when merging painting with sculpture? A Different Perspective May lack structural durability compared to traditional painting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Action Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action-painting-3176585/) [Also](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/also/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Drop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drop/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Material](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-effects-5608937/) [Paint Material](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-material-1170270/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Slide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slide/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Treat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treat/) ## Related quotes > [Action painting has to do with self-creation or self-definition or self-transcendence; but this dissociates it from self-expression, which assumes the acceptance of the ego…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/action-painting-has-to-do-with-self-creation-or-self-definition-or/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [It's helpful for me to get ideas - the physical action of painting. Sometimes it frees up your writer brain. It's nice for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/it-s-helpful-for-me-to-get-ideas-the-physical-action-of-painting/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Your painting is the marking of your progression into nature, a sensation of something you see way beyond the two pretty colors over there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/your-painting-is-the-marking-of-your-progression-into-nature-a/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Don't stop to paint the material, but push on to give the spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/don-t-stop-to-paint-the-material-but-push-on-to-give-the-spirit/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Paint with whatever material you please - with pipes, postage stamps, postcards or playing cards, painted paper, or newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-apollinaire/paint-with-whatever-material-you-please-with-pipes-postage-stamps/) [Guillaume Apollinaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-apollinaire/) > [If a work of art is to explore new environments, it is not to be regarded as a blueprint but rather as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/if-a-work-of-art-is-to-explore-new-environments-it-is-not-to-be/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“Everyone is fond of plucky children, kids who launch into adventures, even (within reason) kids who sass back. What about the girl who sits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-steinberg/everyone-is-fond-of-plucky-children-kids-who-launch-into-adventures/) [Janice Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-steinberg/) > [I will never slide, never fall, never fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-never-slide-never-fall-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had a scene where the chair was meant to slide off the table, but do you think it would slide off? No. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannii-minogue/i-had-a-scene-where-the-chair-was-meant-to-slide-off-the-table-but-do/) [Dannii Minogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannii-minogue/) > [Even a very little girl can wield a slide rule, the cursor serving as a haft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/even-a-very-little-girl-can-wield-a-slide-rule-the-cursor-serving-as/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [When you have been lucky enough to move up the ladder, all you see, really, is the slide back down. You don't see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-hodgson/when-you-have-been-lucky-enough-to-move-up-the-ladder-all-you-see/) [Roy Hodgson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-hodgson/) > [You have to see if the batsman is coming out, if he is staying back, what his grip is like, to gauge his intentions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/you-have-to-see-if-the-batsman-is-coming-out-if-he-is-staying-back/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [Your Just Another Splinter in My Ass as I Slide Down The Banister of Life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-just-another-splinter-in-my-ass-as-i-slide-down-the-banister-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When life rains on your parade, bring out the Slip'n'Slide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-life-rains-on-your-parade-bring-out-the-slip-n-slide/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are a lot of people who can slide on talent their whole lives; they're just naturally gifted. I've never considered myself one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/there-are-a-lot-of-people-who-can-slide-on-talent-their-whole-lives/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) ## 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 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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-all-i-could-remember-was-that/) [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/) [Explore all 64 Claes Oldenburg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) [Browse all 14,940 Action quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like to treat paint as material - to daub it, drop it, let it slide. 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