--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no right and wrong way to paint…" description: "\"There is no right and wrong way to paint except honestly or dishonestly. Honestly is trying for the bigger thing. Dishonestly is bluffing and getting t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/emily-carr-8993_artist_there-is-no-right-and-wrong-way-to-paint_2915343.png" --- # There is no right and wrong way to paint except honestly… ![“There is no right and wrong way to paint except honestly or dishonestly. Honestly is trying for the bigger thing. Dishonestly is bluffing and getting through a smattering of surface representation with no meaning.” quote by Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/emily-carr-8993_artist_there-is-no-right-and-wrong-way-to-paint_2915343.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/emily-carr-8993_artist_there-is-no-right-and-wrong-way-to-paint_2915343.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/emily-carr-8993_artist_there-is-no-right-and-wrong-way-to-paint_2915343.png) > “There is no right and wrong way to paint except honestly or dishonestly. Honestly is trying for the bigger thing. Dishonestly is bluffing and getting through a smattering of surface representation with no meaning.” [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Painting should be honest; dishonest work lacks depth and meaning, while honesty seeks larger truth. **In simple terms:** Honesty in art matters more than technique. Key Takeaway Paint truthfully for deeper impact. Themes art integrity expression Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - studio practice - art education - creative process - exhibition planning Key Concepts authenticity artistic honesty Questions to Reflect On - Is honesty always more valuable than skill? - Can technique enhance honesty? A Different Perspective Some may argue technical skill can also convey meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigger/) [Dishonestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dishonestly-1409074/) [Dishonestly Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dishonestly-honestly-4219955/) [Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honestly/) [Honestly Dishonestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honestly-dishonestly-4219956/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-honestly-3666133/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Right and wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-and-wrong/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Thing Dishonestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-dishonestly-4219957/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wrong way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-way/) ## Related quotes > [What is the chief end of man?-to get rich. In what way?-dishonestly if we can; honestly if we must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/what-is-the-chief-end-of-man-to-get-rich-in-what-way-dishonestly-if/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When you're paid to do a job, it's better to give a few minutes more to it, than a few minutes less. That's one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enid-blyton/when-you-re-paid-to-do-a-job-it-s-better-to-give-a-few-minutes-more/) [Enid Blyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enid-blyton/) > [What is dishonestly got vanishes in profligacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/what-is-dishonestly-got-vanishes-in-profligacy/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Artists have to learn how to paint what's in the mirror, even if what they see is a total (expletive) show...If you can't paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/artists-have-to-learn-how-to-paint-what-s-in-the-mirror-even-if-what-2/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/i-am-making-things-that-inspire-me-with-a-profound-emotion-and-i-am/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Progressives control America's schools and text book industry and they dishonestly leave the ugliest parts of the collectivist story out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/progressives-control-america-s-schools-and-text-book-industry-and/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“I’ll go to church if you cut my hair tomorrow. But then you have to let me paint your portrait sometime.” “You paint?” I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-young/i-ll-go-to-church-if-you-cut-my-hair-tomorrow-but-then-you-have-to/) [Suzanne Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-young/) > [Be sensitive to the qualities inherent in the medium. Paint honestly and avoid tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-french-sloan/be-sensitive-to-the-qualities-inherent-in-the-medium-paint-honestly/) [John French Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-french-sloan/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. In our newsroom, we have every single nationality, we have every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/al-jazeera-is-a-representation-of-you-know-diversity-in-the-arab/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-one-thing-about-being-a-dude-and-writing-from-a-female/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Why I am Passionate and Dedicated 1000% to producing and bringing my books Loving Summer, Bitter Frost, and other book series to the Screen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-gow/why-i-am-passionate-and-dedicated-1000-to-producing-and-bringing-my/) [Kailin Gow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-gow/) > [I hope that we always have diversity, that we have equality and representation every step of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsai-martin/i-hope-that-we-always-have-diversity-that-we-have-equality-and/) [Marsai Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsai-martin/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [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/) ## More by Emily Carr > [It's all the unwordable things one wants to write about, just as it's all the unformable things one wants to paint - essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/it-s-all-the-unwordable-things-one-wants-to-write-about-just-as-it-s/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The biggest part of painting perhaps is faith, and waiting receptively, content to go any way, not planning or forcing. The fear, though, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-biggest-part-of-painting-perhaps-is-faith-and-waiting-receptively/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [What a splendid time Woo must have had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/what-a-splendid-time-woo-must-have-had/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The spirit must be felt so intensely that it has power to call others in passing, for it must pass, not stop in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-spirit-must-be-felt-so-intensely-that-it-has-power-to-call-others/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Inspiration is intention obeyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/inspiration-is-intention-obeyed/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Art being so much greater than ourselves, it will not give up once it has taken hold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/art-being-so-much-greater-than-ourselves-it-will-not-give-up-once-it/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Oh, I wonder if I will ever feel the burst of birth-joy, that knowing that the indescribable, joyous thing that has wooed and wond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/oh-i-wonder-if-i-will-ever-feel-the-burst-of-birth-joy-that-knowing/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Sometimes I could quit paint and take to charring. It must be fine to clean perfectly, to shine and polish and know that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/sometimes-i-could-quit-paint-and-take-to-charring-it-must-be-fine-to/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [How badly I want that nameless thing! First there must be an idea, a feeling... Maybe it was an abstract idea that you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/how-badly-i-want-that-nameless-thing-first-there-must-be-an-idea-a/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The sun enriched the old poles grandly... The mothers expressed all womanhood - the big wooden hands holding the child were so full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-sun-enriched-the-old-poles-grandly-the-mothers-expressed-all/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Look at the earth crowded with growth, new and old bursting from their strong roots hidden in the silent, live ground, each seed according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/look-at-the-earth-crowded-with-growth-new-and-old-bursting-from-their/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Oh, the glory of growth, silent, mighty, persistent, inevitable! To awaken, to open up like a flower to the light of a fuller consciousness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/oh-the-glory-of-growth-silent-mighty-persistent-inevitable-to-awaken/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [The earth is soaked and soggy with rain. Everything is drinking its fill and the surplus gluts the drains. The sky is full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-earth-is-soaked-and-soggy-with-rain-everything-is-drinking-its/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [So still were the big woods where I sat, sound might not yet have been born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/so-still-were-the-big-woods-where-i-sat-sound-might-not-yet-have-been/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Got a new pup. He is half griffon. The other half is mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/got-a-new-pup-he-is-half-griffon-the-other-half-is-mistake/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) [Explore all 76 Emily Carr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) ## 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](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. 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": "There is no right and wrong way to paint except honestly or dishonestly. Honestly is trying for the bigger thing. 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