--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost any fool can paint an academy…" description: "\"Almost any fool can paint an academy picture, and any imbecile can shoot off a Kodak.\" — Ezra Pound" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ezra-pound-1208_academy_almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-pic_569364.png" --- # Almost any fool can paint an academy picture, and any… ![“Almost any fool can paint an academy picture, and any imbecile can shoot off a Kodak.” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ezra-pound-1208_academy_almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-pic_569364.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ezra-pound-1208_academy_almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-pic_569364.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ezra-pound-1208_academy_almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-pic_569364.png) > “Almost any fool can paint an academy picture, and any imbecile can shoot off a Kodak.” [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anyone can produce a simple, unoriginal image, but true artistic skill requires deeper insight and technique. **In simple terms:** Simple pictures are easy; great art is harder. Key Takeaway Seek depth in creative work. Themes art skill originality Mood reflective critical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - photography - design projects Key Concepts creative expression visual literacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between copying and creating? - What practices improve artistic depth? A Different Perspective Skill development be limited by talent or training. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academy/) [Academy Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academy-picture-4701891/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-paint-1107143/) [Imbecile Shoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imbecile-shoot-4701890/) [Imbeciles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imbeciles/) [Kodak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kodak/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Picture Imbecile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-imbecile-4701892/) [Shoot Kodak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoot-kodak-4701889/) ## Related quotes > [I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-decided-i-was-a-very-stupid-fool-not-to-at-least-paint-as-i-wanted-2/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise man to be able to sell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/any-fool-can-paint-a-picture-but-it-takes-a-wise-man-to-be-able-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [School and things that painters have taught me even keep me from painting as I want to. I decided I was a very stupid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/school-and-things-that-painters-have-taught-me-even-keep-me-from/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [There are only two colors to paint a boat, black or white, and only a fool would paint a boat black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-greene-herreshoff/there-are-only-two-colors-to-paint-a-boat-black-or-white-and-only-a/) [Nathanael Greene Herreshoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-greene-herreshoff/) > [I can't live where I want to, I can't go where I want to go, I can't do what I want to, I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-can-t-live-where-i-want-to-i-can-t-go-where-i-want-to-go-i-can-t-do/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [“I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to ... I found that I could say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-decided-i-was-a-very-stupid-fool-not-to-at-least-paint-as-i-wanted/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I listen to Meek, Blac Youngsta, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Kodak, Lil Bibby of course.I listen to pretty much everybody I like different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-herb/i-listen-to-meek-blac-youngsta-playboi-carti-lil-uzi-vert-kodak-lil/) [Lil Herb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-herb/) > [Kodak is hard. 'No Flockin' is an amazing song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle/kodak-is-hard-no-flockin-is-an-amazing-song/) [Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle/) > [Bin Laden was very keen to point out to me that his forces had fought the Americans in Somalia. He also wanted to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/bin-laden-was-very-keen-to-point-out-to-me-that-his-forces-had-fought/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [ The \[Kodak is\] the only witness I have encountered in my long experience that I couldn't bribe. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-kodak-is-the-only-witness-i-have-encountered-in-my-long/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Previously, even in Egypt, men had not learned to see straight. They fumbled in the dark, and didn't quite know where they were, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/previously-even-in-egypt-men-had-not-learned-to-see-straight-they/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [I cry at Kodak commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ripley/i-cry-at-kodak-commercials/) [Alice Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ripley/) > [I listen to Migos. I listen to Drake a lot. Also 21 Savage, Kodak Black, XXXTentacion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozuna/i-listen-to-migos-i-listen-to-drake-a-lot-also-21-savage-kodak-black/) [Ozuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozuna/) > [I called it Kinko’s because of my nickname — because I had this really kinky hair. If you think about it, the first thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-orfalea/i-called-it-kinko-s-because-of-my-nickname-because-i-had-this-really/) [Paul Orfalea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-orfalea/) > [Photojournalists know the horrors of war can only be exposed at close range. Kodak Film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/photojournalists-know-the-horrors-of-war-can-only-be-exposed-at-close/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) ## More by Ezra Pound > [“I once saw a small child go to an electric light switch as say, "Mamma, can I open the light?" She was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-once-saw-a-small-child-go-to-an-electric-light-switch-as-say-mamma/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/a-great-age-of-literature-is-perhaps-always-a-great-age-of/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Poets who are not interested in music are, or become, bad poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poets-who-are-not-interested-in-music-are-or-become-bad-poets/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [where the dead walked and the living were made of cardboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/where-the-dead-walked-and-the-living-were-made-of-cardboard/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Liberty is not a right but a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/liberty-is-not-a-right-but-a-duty/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-artist-is-always-beginning-any-work-of-art-which-is-not-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/any-general-statement-is-like-a-cheque-drawn-on-a-bank-its-value/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I could I trust starve like a gentleman. It's listed as part of the poetic training, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-could-i-trust-starve-like-a-gentleman-it-s-listed-as-part-of-the/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) [Explore all 273 Ezra Pound quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More Academy quotes > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' I knew it had Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Gary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/professionally-speaking-the-proudest-moment-was-when-i-booked-the/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [“Step Up Academy offers a conducive, encouraging, comfortable environment for children to step up their learning and achieve success. Our students progress within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerthiga-manokumar/step-up-academy-offers-a-conducive-encouraging-comfortable/) [Kerthiga Manokumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerthiga-manokumar/) > [I remember when I first won the Academy Award and how much I loved it. I just wish there was an award around that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-woodward/i-remember-when-i-first-won-the-academy-award-and-how-much-i-loved-it/) [Joanne Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-woodward/) > [Few years ago, I said something about the Academy being very white male, which is the reality, and I was slashed to pieces by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-delpy/few-years-ago-i-said-something-about-the-academy-being-very-white/) [Julie Delpy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-delpy/) > [I think that no matter whether you're Quentin Tarantino or any other kind of a rebel, or whatever, everyone who makes movies still wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-osborne/i-think-that-no-matter-whether-you-re-quentin-tarantino-or-any-other/) [Robert Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-osborne/) > [“Fuck Briarcrest Academy, and fuck you all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilsa-madden-mills/fuck-briarcrest-academy-and-fuck-you-all/) [Ilsa Madden-Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilsa-madden-mills/) > [I don't really look forward to movie stardom or doing a $200-million movie or winning an Academy Award.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-taylor/i-don-t-really-look-forward-to-movie-stardom-or-doing-a-200-million/) [Rachael Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-taylor/) > [I am an outsider looking in, absolutely. You're not going to see me at the Academy Awards 'Vanity Fair' party any time soon. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/i-am-an-outsider-looking-in-absolutely-you-re-not-going-to-see-me-at/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [In all our academies we attempt far too much. ... In earlier times lectures were delivered upon chemistry and botany as branches of medicine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-all-our-academies-we-attempt-far-too-much-in-earlier-times/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The 'Police Academy' stuff was all hyper-slapsticky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/the-police-academy-stuff-was-all-hyper-slapsticky/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [The Academies of Art are nothing but great painting factories - those with talent are fed in at one end, and they come out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/the-academies-of-art-are-nothing-but-great-painting-factories-those/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Furnished as all Europe now is with Academies of Science, with nice instruments and the spirit of experiment, the progress of human knowledge will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/furnished-as-all-europe-now-is-with-academies-of-science-with-nice/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) [Browse all 557 Academy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost any fool can paint an academy picture, and any imbecile can shoot off a Kodak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezra Pound" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-picture-and-any-imbecile-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-picture-and-any-imbecile-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ezra-pound-1208_academy_almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-pic_569364.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ezra-pound-1208_academy_almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-pic_569364.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ezra-pound-1208_academy_almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-pic_569364.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Almost any fool can paint an academy picture, and any imbecile can shoot off a Kodak.” — Ezra Pound", "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": "Ezra Pound", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Almost any fool can paint an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-picture-and-any-imbecile-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-picture-and-any-imbecile-can/#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 } } ] } ```