--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think a good painting or a good work of…" description: "\"I think a good painting or a good work of art does many things it wants, I mean, maybe 15 or 20 or 100. One of the things a painting does is to make th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/david-salle-11131_art_i-think-a-good-painting-or-a-good-work-o_886064.jpg" --- # I think a good painting or a good work of art does many… ![“I think a good painting or a good work of art does many things it wants, I mean, maybe 15 or 20 or 100. One of the things a painting does is to make the room look better. It improves the wall that it's on. Which is much harder than it looks. And that's a good thing. And if one engages with a…” quote by David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/david-salle-11131_art_i-think-a-good-painting-or-a-good-work-o_886064.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/david-salle-11131_art_i-think-a-good-painting-or-a-good-work-o_886064.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b78/david-salle-11131_art_i-think-a-good-painting-or-a-good-work-o_886064.jpg) > “I think a good painting or a good work of art does many things it wants, I mean, maybe 15 or 20 or 100. One of the things a painting does is to make the room look better. It improves the wall that it's on. Which is much harder than it looks. And that's a good thing. And if one engages with a painting on that level, that's fine, that's great. After some time, familiarity, the other things that a painting does, the other layers, they just start to make themselves felt.” [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A painting can serve multiple purposes, from aesthetic enhancement of a space to deeper emotional and intellectual engagement as familiarity grows. **In simple terms:** A painting can make a room look better and later reveal deeper layers. Key Takeaway Appreciate both surface and deeper meanings. Themes aesthetics perception depth engagement Mood contemplative inspired Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - interior design - gallery viewing - personal contemplation - art education Key Concepts visual art layered meaning environmental impact Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment affect your perception of art? - What layers emerge as you become familiar with a piece? A Different Perspective A painting may not convey its intended layers to all viewers equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good in the abstract sense. A hill or tree cannot make a good painting just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/objective-painting-is-not-good-painting-unless-it-is-good-in-the-2/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [“You paint from your subject, not what you see…I rarely paint anything I don’t know very well. It was surprising to me to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/you-paint-from-your-subject-not-what-you-see-i-rarely-paint-anything/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good in the abstract sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/objective-painting-is-not-good-painting-unless-it-is-good-in-the/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [That's what painting does; it organizes vision in a certain way or suggests that certain things be paid attention to and certain other things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/that-s-what-painting-does-it-organizes-vision-in-a-certain-way-or/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [There are some things in painting which cannot be explained, and that something is essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/there-are-some-things-in-painting-which-cannot-be-explained-and-that/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Each movie you do about a real person is like a painting, and you choose certain things in the painting that you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/each-movie-you-do-about-a-real-person-is-like-a-painting-and-you/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [When one is painting one does not think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael/when-one-is-painting-one-does-not-think/) [Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael/) > [I never think about actual things when I'm painting. I'm not thinking, "I'm going to put a person here, a tree here and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-banisadr/i-never-think-about-actual-things-when-i-m-painting-i-m-not-thinking/) [Ali Banisadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-banisadr/) > [The most important things in a painting are Form and Value. Color comes last - like a friend you welcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-camille-corot/the-most-important-things-in-a-painting-are-form-and-value-color/) [Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-camille-corot/) > [Painting does what we cannot do—it brings a three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional plane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/painting-does-what-we-cannot-do-it-brings-a-three-dimensional-world/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [It's always hopeless to talk about painting - one never does anything but talk around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/it-s-always-hopeless-to-talk-about-painting-one-never-does-anything/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting does not come from intelligence so much, as from sight and feeling and invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gilbert-hamerton/painting-does-not-come-from-intelligence-so-much-as-from-sight-and/) [Philip Gilbert Hamerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gilbert-hamerton/) > [Painting does more than just point to things. The very act of pointing is a value statement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/painting-does-more-than-just-point-to-things-the-very-act-of-pointing/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The older painting - well, it does have an effect all at once, I suppose, but it's of a lesser intensity than a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/the-older-painting-well-it-does-have-an-effect-all-at-once-i-suppose/) [Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/) > [My painting does not come from the easel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/my-painting-does-not-come-from-the-easel/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) ## More by David Salle > [What most paintings do is give you a path for your eye to move around. The painting actually tells your eye, go here, now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/what-most-paintings-do-is-give-you-a-path-for-your-eye-to-move-around/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I've always read, I've always admired writers and was lucky really to meet some extraordinary ones and become friends. Certain times you just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-ve-always-read-i-ve-always-admired-writers-and-was-lucky-really-to/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [Truth is, I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I got out of Cal Arts. I think I wasted a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/truth-is-i-didn-t-know-what-the-hell-i-was-doing-when-i-got-out-of/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I feel that the only thing that really matters in art and life is to go against the tidal wave of literalism and literal-mindedness-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-feel-that-the-only-thing-that-really-matters-in-art-and-life-is-to/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [Since I moved six or seven times the first year I was in New York, I had to be able to roll up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/since-i-moved-six-or-seven-times-the-first-year-i-was-in-new-york-i/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [People are still making paintings. People are still enjoying paintings, looking at paintings. Paintings still have something to tell us. There's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/people-are-still-making-paintings-people-are-still-enjoying-paintings/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I feel like all the American artists are aesthetically not very interesting and mired in a complaining relationship to its own culture, whereas the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-feel-like-all-the-american-artists-are-aesthetically-not-very/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I think people have to be given - or take - the permission to say that something is nothing. Just because it's in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-think-people-have-to-be-given-or-take-the-permission-to-say-that/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [There are so many different ways to talk and think about art. We just spoke about when attitude becomes form. But when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/there-are-so-many-different-ways-to-talk-and-think-about-art-we-just/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I started when I was nine. Really, everything I know about color theory, composition, drawing, and painting, I learned when I was a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-started-when-i-was-nine-really-everything-i-know-about-color-theory/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [If you go to a concert, you will notice, is it loud? Is the music fast? Is it predominately strings or brass? There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/if-you-go-to-a-concert-you-will-notice-is-it-loud-is-the-music-fast/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I was actually dumbfounded by how some artists talked to each other. For example, it was a normal night at a bar, nothing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-was-actually-dumbfounded-by-how-some-artists-talked-to-each-other/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [What if everything in a museum is crap? It's entirely possible; it's not the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/what-if-everything-in-a-museum-is-crap-it-s-entirely-possible-it-s/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [“good art illustrates anything at all, it’s likely to be a story you didn’t even know needed telling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/good-art-illustrates-anything-at-all-it-s-likely-to-be-a-story-you/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [“How a painter treats this edge is the real subject of realist painting; how the brush behaves in the vicinity of an edge gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/how-a-painter-treats-this-edge-is-the-real-subject-of-realist/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) [Explore all 61 David Salle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) ## 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 think a good painting or a good work of art does many things it wants, I mean, maybe 15 or 20 or 100. 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