--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have lived among enough painters and…" description: "\"I have lived among enough painters and around studios to have had all the theories - and how contradictory they are - rammed down my throat. A man has ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/d-h-lawrence-426_art_i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-a_1796901.png" --- # I have lived among enough painters and around studios to… ![“I have lived among enough painters and around studios to have had all the theories - and how contradictory they are - rammed down my throat. A man has to have a gizzard like an ostrich to digest all the brass-tacks and wire nails of modern art theories.” quote by D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/d-h-lawrence-426_art_i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-a_1796901.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/d-h-lawrence-426_art_i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-a_1796901.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/d-h-lawrence-426_art_i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-a_1796901.png) > “I have lived among enough painters and around studios to have had all the theories - and how contradictory they are - rammed down my throat. A man has to have a gizzard like an ostrich to digest all the brass-tacks and wire nails of modern art theories.” [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes modern art theory as overwhelming and contradictory, requiring a tough, resilient mindset to process it. **In simple terms:** Modern art theory is chaotic and hard to swallow. Key Takeaway Develop a thick skin and critical eye. Themes art criticism resilience modernism Mood frustrated determined Type analytical critical When to use this quote - gallery visits - art school - creative writing - curatorial work Key Concepts theory overload critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you filter useful ideas from noise? - Can you engage with theory without becoming jaded? A Different Perspective The quote may overstate the necessity of harshness, ignoring collaborative learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brass/) [Enough pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough-pain/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Modern art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-art/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theories/) ## Related quotes > [In art, theories are as useful as a doctor's prescription; one must be sick to believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-de-vlaminck/in-art-theories-are-as-useful-as-a-doctor-s-prescription-one-must-be/) [Maurice de Vlaminck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-de-vlaminck/) > [As regards the efficacy of the art and the theories of it, I promise and expect that in these volumes I shall undoubtedly show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/as-regards-the-efficacy-of-the-art-and-the-theories-of-it-i-promise/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Joy, happiness ... we do not question. They are beyond question, maybe. A matter of being. But pain forces us to think, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/joy-happiness-we-do-not-question-they-are-beyond-question-maybe-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“Pain Fuels My Pen (Sonnet) When I started writing, I had a partner, I had plans to settle in Sofia with her. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/pain-fuels-my-pen-sonnet-when-i-started-writing-i-had-a-partner-i-had/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“There are too many questions and not enough painkillers in the world to get through them all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-stovall/there-are-too-many-questions-and-not-enough-painkillers-in-the-world/) S.A. Stovall > [When my soul says; Enough pain, give-up, don't take it anymore, walk away. My heart says; give it another try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hayssus/when-my-soul-says-enough-pain-give-up-don-t-take-it-anymore-walk-away/) [Michael Hayssus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hayssus/) > [“Enough pain will keep you humble. Enough grief will keep you compassionate. Enough trouble will keep you strong. Enough hardship will keep you grateful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/enough-pain-will-keep-you-humble-enough-grief-will-keep-you/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“why the fuck does it hurt when hopes shatter? Isn’t the world full of enough pain over real things, like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-adair/why-the-fuck-does-it-hurt-when-hopes-shatter-isn-t-the-world-full-of/) [Bobby Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-adair/) > [“She had married him because she felt sage, because she'd had enough pain to last her a lifetime, and because although he had many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/she-had-married-him-because-she-felt-sage-because-she-d-had-enough/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“It’s the pain, isn’t it? With enough pain, you wink out.” He didn’t answer, and I grinned. “I’m totally going to force you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-stark/it-s-the-pain-isn-t-it-with-enough-pain-you-wink-out-he-didn-t-answer/) Jenn Stark > [Change happens when one individual has had enough pain and finds the inner resolve to ask for help and make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ferguson/change-happens-when-one-individual-has-had-enough-pain-and-finds-the/) [Mike Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ferguson/) > [“Azriel lingered near the door, quiet enough that when Feyre and Mor began talking about some of her paintings, Nesta went over to him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/azriel-lingered-near-the-door-quiet-enough-that-when-feyre-and-mor/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [There are enough painful experiences that go along with this trip that it keeps me in reality. It ain't all gems and roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-latvala/there-are-enough-painful-experiences-that-go-along-with-this-trip/) [Dick Latvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-latvala/) > [We . . . must try to live without causing unnecessary harm, not just to fellow humans but to all beings. We must try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/we-must-try-to-live-without-causing-unnecessary-harm-not-just-to/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [I love being the age I am, because if there's enough pain or grief, I have enough experience now to realize that there's joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gilbert/i-love-being-the-age-i-am-because-if-there-s-enough-pain-or-grief-i/) [Sara Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gilbert/) ## More by D. H. Lawrence > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-chamber-as-big-as-the-crystal/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/now-it-is-autumn-and-the-falling-fruit-and-the-long-journey-towards/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/we-have-to-hate-our-immediate-predecessors-to-get-free-of-their/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Reach me a gentian, give me a torch! Let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of a flower down the darker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/reach-me-a-gentian-give-me-a-torch-let-me-guide-myself-with-the-blue/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The war is dreadful. It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-war-is-dreadful-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-follow-it/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The nearer a conception comes towards finality, the nearer does the dynamic relation, out of which this concept has arisen, draw to a close.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-nearer-a-conception-comes-towards-finality-the-nearer-does-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [It is our business to go as we are impelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-is-our-business-to-go-as-we-are-impelled/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/ours-is-essentially-a-tragic-age-so-we-refuse-to-take-it-tragically/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If only we could live two lives: the first in which to make one's mistakes, and the second in which to profit by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-only-we-could-live-two-lives-the-first-in-which-to-make-one-s/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/they-say-geniuses-mostly-have-great-mothers-they-mostly-have-sad-fates/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/when-one-jumps-over-the-edge-one-is-bound-to-land-somewhere/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The living moment is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-living-moment-is-everything/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack, and a donkey would die of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-a-woman-s-got-nothing-but-her-fair-fame-to-feed-on-why-it-s-thin/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) [Explore all 570 D. H. Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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 > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have lived among enough painters and around studios to have had all the theories - and how contradictory they are - rammed down my throat. A man has to have a gizzard like an ostrich to digest all the brass-tacks and wire nails of modern art theories.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "D. H. Lawrence" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-around-studios-to-have-had-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-around-studios-to-have-had-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/d-h-lawrence-426_art_i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-a_1796901.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/d-h-lawrence-426_art_i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-a_1796901.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d2/d-h-lawrence-426_art_i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-a_1796901.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have lived among enough painters and around studios to have had all the theories - and how contradictory…” — D. H. Lawrence", "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": "D. H. Lawrence", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have lived among enough painters...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-around-studios-to-have-had-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-have-lived-among-enough-painters-and-around-studios-to-have-had-all/#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 } } ] } ```