--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To paint well, I need to be enraptured by…" description: "\"To paint well, I need to be enraptured by my subjects.\" — Elizabeth Peyton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elizabeth-peyton-26705_artist_to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by_2598861.png" --- # To paint well, I need to be enraptured by my subjects. ![“To paint well, I need to be enraptured by my subjects.” quote by Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elizabeth-peyton-26705_artist_to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by_2598861.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elizabeth-peyton-26705_artist_to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by_2598861.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elizabeth-peyton-26705_artist_to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by_2598861.png) > “To paint well, I need to be enraptured by my subjects.” [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Passion for subjects fuels artistic skill and expression **In simple terms:** Being inspired by subjects improves painting Key Takeaway Seek subjects that inspire you Themes artistic inspiration skill development passion Mood inquisitive motivated Type artist statement advice When to use this quote - portrait sessions - art classes - personal projects - artist residencies Key Concepts creative process emotional connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance inspiration with technique? - What subjects ignite your creativity? A Different Perspective Passion alone may not guarantee technical mastery ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Enraptured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enraptured-613219/) [Enraptured Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enraptured-subjects-1926955/) [Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need/) [Need Enraptured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-enraptured-1926954/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-need-1926956/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to-and-i-paint/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [The paint is something we need to defend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-jokic/the-paint-is-something-we-need-to-defend/) [Nikola Jokic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-jokic/) > [You know, why does a painter paint? You need to communicate, you need to challenge preconceived ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-martin/you-know-why-does-a-painter-paint-you-need-to-communicate-you-need-to/) [Stacy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-martin/) > [“They are resplendent, and I am enraptured.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/they-are-resplendent-and-i-am-enraptured/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [“enraptured in hypnotic war”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/enraptured-in-hypnotic-war/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Looking into your eyes, I'm absolutely enraptured by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/looking-into-your-eyes-i-m-absolutely-enraptured-by-you/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [“You are never more alive than when you are enraptured by pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/you-are-never-more-alive-than-when-you-are-enraptured-by-pain/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [My Soul Entwined, My Mind trembling, My Heart, yours. I was the last of my kind, invisible, untouchable, unreachable; and now, I am enraptured.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/my-soul-entwined-my-mind-trembling-my-heart-yours-i-was-the-last-of/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [To go within doesn't mean to become enraptured with who you are, or to become enraptured with ideas of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/to-go-within-doesn-t-mean-to-become-enraptured-with-who-you-are-or-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“What most enraptured me were the asparagus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/what-most-enraptured-me-were-the-asparagus/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“I bit my lip. I was so enraptured in what he was doing to me that I couldn't answer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gideon-rathbone/i-bit-my-lip-i-was-so-enraptured-in-what-he-was-doing-to-me-that-i/) [Gideon Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gideon-rathbone/) > [Draw and paint the subject the way you want it to be, not as it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brommer/draw-and-paint-the-subject-the-way-you-want-it-to-be-not-as-it-is/) [Gerald Brommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brommer/) > [In school, some of my favorite subjects... I mean, art was my favorite subject. I loved art! I used to go during lunch time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-hough/in-school-some-of-my-favorite-subjects-i-mean-art-was-my-favorite/) [Derek Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-hough/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) ## More by Elizabeth Peyton > [I don't rise to the occasion unless I'm really moved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/i-don-t-rise-to-the-occasion-unless-i-m-really-moved/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [I think everybody can be beautiful. Anybody can have beauty. It's about how you look at the world, in a way, and how you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/i-think-everybody-can-be-beautiful-anybody-can-have-beauty-it-s-about/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [I start listening to something, or I'm seeing somebody a lot or seeing their art. And then I just really want to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/i-start-listening-to-something-or-i-m-seeing-somebody-a-lot-or-seeing/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [I think it is such an amazing moment when people realize what they are and what they can be, and they start putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/i-think-it-is-such-an-amazing-moment-when-people-realize-what-they/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [If art is any good, it has so much of a longer trajectory than one night. Contemporary art is separate from art openings. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/if-art-is-any-good-it-has-so-much-of-a-longer-trajectory-than-one/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [I don't think meeting people that I've done pictures of spoils it at all because I like the really human sides of people. 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Thats something I wanted in my paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/theres-something-in-music-that-fascinates-me-how-it-communicates/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [I think little things are more powerful because they're more honest, so people feel them more strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/i-think-little-things-are-more-powerful-because-they-re-more-honest/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [I love the idea that someone I like would have a piece of mine in their house and have a relationship with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/i-love-the-idea-that-someone-i-like-would-have-a-piece-of-mine-in/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [That's what it's all about - making art is making something live forever. Human beings especially - we can't hold on to them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/that-s-what-it-s-all-about-making-art-is-making-something-live/) [Elizabeth Peyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/) > [Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman was one of those books I read in my mid-twenties that was life-changing. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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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": "To paint well, I need to be enraptured by my subjects.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Peyton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by-my-subjects/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by-my-subjects/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elizabeth-peyton-26705_artist_to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by_2598861.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elizabeth-peyton-26705_artist_to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by_2598861.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/elizabeth-peyton-26705_artist_to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by_2598861.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To paint well, I need to be enraptured by my subjects.” — Elizabeth Peyton", "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": "Elizabeth Peyton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peyton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To paint well, I need to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by-my-subjects/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peyton/to-paint-well-i-need-to-be-enraptured-by-my-subjects/#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 } } ] } ```