---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've spent so long on some paintings that…"
description: "\"I've spent so long on some paintings that I no longer know what to think of them, and I am definitely getting harder to please; nothing satisfies me......"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-tha_711844.png"
---

#  I've spent so long on some paintings that I no longer know…

![“I've spent so long on some paintings that I no longer know what to think of them, and I am definitely getting harder to please; nothing satisfies me...” quote by Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-tha_711844.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-tha_711844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-tha_711844.png)

> “I've spent so long on some paintings that I no longer know what to think of them, and I am definitely getting harder to please; nothing satisfies me...”

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

## 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 feels artistic fatigue, losing satisfaction and becoming increasingly critical of his work.

**In simple terms:** He is bored and hard to please.

Key Takeaway

Seek fresh inspiration or new techniques.

Themes

artistic fatigue criticism creativity self‑doubt

Mood

frustrated contemplative

Type

reflective personal

When to use this quote

- painting
- gallery exhibition
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

Aesthetic stagnation creative block

Questions to Reflect On

- What new perspective could revive your enthusiasm?
- How might you redefine success in your art?

A Different Perspective

Creative blocks can persist despite effort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Frustration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustration/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [I still have a lot of pleasure doing them, but as time goes by I come to appreciate more clearly which paintings are good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-still-have-a-lot-of-pleasure-doing-them-but-as-time-goes-by-i-come/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [I loved being in my own head so much, it was getting harder and harder being with other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-loved-being-in-my-own-head-so-much-it-was-getting-harder-and-harder/)

[Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/)

> [As I move up the ranks, it's getting harder and harder to get the KO or a decision, and I apologize for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-korean-zombie/as-i-move-up-the-ranks-it-s-getting-harder-and-harder-to-get-the-ko/)

[The Korean Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-korean-zombie/)

> [It's getting harder and harder to feel inspired to spend six months on a record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/it-s-getting-harder-and-harder-to-feel-inspired-to-spend-six-months/)

[Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/)

> [The women sit, getting colder and colder, on a seat getting harder and harder, watching oafs, getting muddier and muddier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-graham/the-women-sit-getting-colder-and-colder-on-a-seat-getting-harder-and/)

[Virginia Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-graham/)

> [Life is getting harder and harder. And to be strong, all I have to do is getting closer and closer to God. 8 days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hottiedevil/life-is-getting-harder-and-harder-and-to-be-strong-all-i-have-to-do/)

HOttieDeviL

> [These times are so hard, and they're getting even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/these-times-are-so-hard-and-they-re-getting-even-harder/)

[Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/)

> [I have always lived beyond my means. I am still trying to live beyond my means, but it is getting harder all the time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sherman/i-have-always-lived-beyond-my-means-i-am-still-trying-to-live-beyond/)

[Allan Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sherman/)

> [Getting harder with each time I write, wish I could rewind last night. I had so much fun just kickin' it and goin' in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-miller/getting-harder-with-each-time-i-write-wish-i-could-rewind-last-night/)

[Mac Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-miller/)

> [“These times are so hard, are they're getting even harder. ~ Eminem”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/these-times-are-so-hard-are-they-re-getting-even-harder-eminem/)

[Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/)

> [Singing like I do is very hard, and as you get older, it's getting harder and harder all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-pickett/singing-like-i-do-is-very-hard-and-as-you-get-older-it-s-getting/)

[Wilson Pickett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-pickett/)

> [In corporate life, I have noticed, it is getting harder and harder to say that things are bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-coles/in-corporate-life-i-have-noticed-it-is-getting-harder-and-harder-to/)

[Richard Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-coles/)

> [“It’s getting harder,” his breath caressed my cheek. “What is?” I asked. “To resist you,” his fingers flexed against me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micalea-smeltzer/it-s-getting-harder-his-breath-caressed-my-cheek-what-is-i-asked-to/)

[Micalea Smeltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micalea-smeltzer/)

> [Now the current's only pulling me down Its getting harder too breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/3-doors-down/now-the-current-s-only-pulling-me-down-its-getting-harder-too-breath/)

[3 Doors Down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/3-doors-down/)

> [Birthdays are getting harder as I get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-janney/birthdays-are-getting-harder-as-i-get-older/)

[Allison Janney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-janney/)

## More by Claude Monet

> [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [When I look at nature I feel as if I'll be able to paint it all, note it all down, and then you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/when-i-look-at-nature-i-feel-as-if-i-ll-be-able-to-paint-it-all-note/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [My life has been nothing but a failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/my-life-has-been-nothing-but-a-failure/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [Despite my extremely modest prices, dealers and art lovers are turning their backs on me. It is very depressing to see the lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/despite-my-extremely-modest-prices-dealers-and-art-lovers-are-turning/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [I didn't become an impressionist. As long as I can remember I always have been one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-didn-t-become-an-impressionist-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-always/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [I have once more taken up things that can't be done: water with grasses weaving on the bottom. But I'm always tackling that sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-have-once-more-taken-up-things-that-can-t-be-done-water-with/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [All I did was to look at what the universe showed me, to let my brush bear witness to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/all-i-did-was-to-look-at-what-the-universe-showed-me-to-let-my-brush/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [I do have a dream, a painting, the baths of La Grenouillere for which I've done a few bad rough sketches, but it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-do-have-a-dream-a-painting-the-baths-of-la-grenouillere-for-which-i/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [While adding the finishing touches to a painting might appear insignificant, it is much harder to do than one might suppose...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/while-adding-the-finishing-touches-to-a-painting-might-appear/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [What is it that's taken hold of me, for me to carry on like this in relentless pursuit of something beyond my powers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/what-is-it-that-s-taken-hold-of-me-for-me-to-carry-on-like-this-in/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [I've said it before and can only repeat that I owe everything to Boudin and I attribute my success to him. I came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-ve-said-it-before-and-can-only-repeat-that-i-owe-everything-to/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment. To such an extent indeed that one day, finding myself at the deathbed of a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/color-is-my-day-long-obsession-joy-and-torment-to-such-an-extent/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [It would be a very bad idea... to exhibit even a small number of this new series, as the whole effect can only be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-would-be-a-very-bad-idea-to-exhibit-even-a-small-number-of-this/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [By the single example of this painter devoted to his art with such independence, my destiny as a painter opened out to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/by-the-single-example-of-this-painter-devoted-to-his-art-with-such/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [It would be asking too much to want to sell only to connoisseurs - that way starvation lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-would-be-asking-too-much-to-want-to-sell-only-to-connoisseurs-that/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

[Explore all 185 Claude Monet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

## 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've spent so long on some paintings that I no longer know what to think of them, and I am definitely getting harder to please; nothing satisfies me...",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Claude Monet"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-that-i-no-longer-know-what-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Artist"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-that-i-no-longer-know-what-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-tha_711844.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-tha_711844.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/696/claude-monet-2110_artist_i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-tha_711844.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I've spent so long on some paintings that I no longer know what to think of them, and I am definitely…” — Claude Monet",
                "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": "Claude Monet",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I've spent so long on some...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-that-i-no-longer-know-what-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-ve-spent-so-long-on-some-paintings-that-i-no-longer-know-what-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
