--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Drawing is rather like playing chess…" description: "\"Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.\" — David Hockney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5b/david-hockney-1395_ahead_drawing-is-rather-like-playing-chess-you_932213.png" --- # Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races… ![“Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.” quote by David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5b/david-hockney-1395_ahead_drawing-is-rather-like-playing-chess-you_932213.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5b/david-hockney-1395_ahead_drawing-is-rather-like-playing-chess-you_932213.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5b/david-hockney-1395_ahead_drawing-is-rather-like-playing-chess-you_932213.png) > “Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.” [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative processes involve anticipating outcomes, similar to strategic planning in games. **In simple terms:** Think ahead like a chess player. Key Takeaway Plan before you act. Themes creativity strategy art anticipation Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - design projects - problem solving Key Concepts cognitive foresight artistic process Questions to Reflect On - How does anticipation shape your work? - Can over‑planning hinder creativity? A Different Perspective May oversimplify artistic spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) [Chess Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess-mind-1527685/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Drawing Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing-like-1527684/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Races](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-races-1527686/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Playing chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-chess/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Sketching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sketching/) [Your](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your/) ## Related quotes > [If only I could run as fast as my mind races late at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/if-only-i-could-run-as-fast-as-my-mind-races-late-at-night/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [“For Kyle, thinking can just end up being destructive. It’s like he was always playing chess in his mind against himself for stakes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goode/for-kyle-thinking-can-just-end-up-being-destructive-it-s-like-he-was/) [John Goode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goode/) > [ Tis action moves the world…\[in\] the game of chess, mind that: ye cannot leave your men to stand unmoving on the board and hope… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kearsley/tis-action-moves-the-world-in-the-game-of-chess-mind-that-ye-cannot/) [Susanna Kearsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kearsley/) > [We perceive after a careful consideration of the evolution of the chess mind that such evolution has gone on, in general, in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-reti/we-perceive-after-a-careful-consideration-of-the-evolution-of-the/) [Richard Reti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-reti/) > [In one gallery they actually had a notice which said No Sketching. How obnoxious! I said, How do you think these things got on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/in-one-gallery-they-actually-had-a-notice-which-said-no-sketching-how/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Drawing takes time. A line has time in it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/drawing-takes-time-a-line-has-time-in-it/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/drawing-is-like-making-an-expressive-gesture-with-the-advantage-of/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Drawing is something I do on the side, I like to see it be of use at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coeur-de-pirate/drawing-is-something-i-do-on-the-side-i-like-to-see-it-be-of-use-at/) [Coeur de pirate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coeur-de-pirate/) > [If I try to articulate every little detail in a drawing, it would be like missing the forest for the trees, so it's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/if-i-try-to-articulate-every-little-detail-in-a-drawing-it-would-be/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [Drawing is like studying Greek and piano- you can't speak or play in your conscious, which is clumsy. 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My strongest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-abel/my-drawing-like-that-of-most-cartoonists-is-intended-first-of-all-to/) [Jessica Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-abel/) > [Drawing is like the first kiss. It carries within it the deepest emotion and the challenge of the first step. It is the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ala-bashir/drawing-is-like-the-first-kiss-it-carries-within-it-the-deepest/) [Ala Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ala-bashir/) > [“Um, well, I'm sure to the untrained eye, this drawing may seem like one of mine. But if you look closer, you'll see it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubbles/um-well-i-m-sure-to-the-untrained-eye-this-drawing-may-seem-like-one/) [Bubbles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubbles/) ## More by David Hockney > [ You can't believe any picture nowadays, if it's digital. You can't really believe. 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Someone watching me would be concentrating on the exact moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/until-i-saw-my-drawings-replayed-on-the-ipad-i-d-never-seen-myself/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [You always need a bit of low-tech.You always need a pair of scissors, it seems to me. You can do better things… The high-tech,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-always-need-a-bit-of-low-tech-you-always-need-a-pair-of-scissors/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [When you are older, you realise that everything else is just nothing compared to painting and drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/when-you-are-older-you-realise-that-everything-else-is-just-nothing/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [The photograph isn't good enough. It's not real enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/the-photograph-isn-t-good-enough-it-s-not-real-enough/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [In fact, I'm a bit of a slob, but I've always said my excuse, I have a higher sense of order, I can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/in-fact-i-m-a-bit-of-a-slob-but-i-ve-always-said-my-excuse-i-have-a/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Spring is very energising to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/spring-is-very-energising-to-me/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [No theoretician, no writer on art, however interesting he or she might be, could be as interesting as Picasso. 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