--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always think of myself not so much as a…" description: "\"I always think of myself not so much as a painter but as a medium for accident and chance.\" — Francis Bacon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/francis-bacon-297_accidents_i-always-think-of-myself-not-so-much-as_1871130.jpg" --- # I always think of myself not so much as a painter but as a… ![“I always think of myself not so much as a painter but as a medium for accident and chance.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/francis-bacon-297_accidents_i-always-think-of-myself-not-so-much-as_1871130.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/francis-bacon-297_accidents_i-always-think-of-myself-not-so-much-as_1871130.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/francis-bacon-297_accidents_i-always-think-of-myself-not-so-much-as_1871130.jpg) > “I always think of myself not so much as a painter but as a medium for accident and chance.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He sees himself as a conduit through which randomness creates art, not the sole creator. **In simple terms:** Art as a vessel for chance. Key Takeaway Embrace unpredictability in creation. Themes creativity chance artistic process Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - experimental projects - creative brainstorming - improvisational performance Key Concepts philosophy of art randomness serendipity Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance control and randomness? - What role does chance play in your work? A Different Perspective Reliance on accident may limit intentional skill development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident-chance-258602/) [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Mediums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediums/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painter Medium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter-medium-1926404/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Think Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-painter-1195611/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unpredictability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpredictability/) ## Related quotes > [Accidents and chance are words used by persons who do not think clearly when they attempt to account for certain happenings. Anyone who thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-percival/accidents-and-chance-are-words-used-by-persons-who-do-not-think/) [Harold Percival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-percival/) > [Rational intelligence is dangerous and leads to ratiocination. The painter is a medium who doesn't realize what he is doing. No translation can express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/rational-intelligence-is-dangerous-and-leads-to-ratiocination-the/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-no-ideas-about-what-the-paintings-imply-about-the-world-i-don/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Because I'm so busy and because I think of myself as a painter, I desperately guard the time that I have to paint. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/because-i-m-so-busy-and-because-i-think-of-myself-as-a-painter-i/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Picasso, Michelangelo, possibly, might be verging on genius, but I don't think a painter like Rembrandt is a genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/picasso-michelangelo-possibly-might-be-verging-on-genius-but-i-don-t/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [I draw all the time. Drawing is my backbone. I don't think a painter has to be able to draw, I just think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-draw-all-the-time-drawing-is-my-backbone-i-don-t-think-a-painter/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I love to draw-pencil, ink pen-I love art. When I go on tour and visit museums in Holland, Germany or England-you know those huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-love-to-draw-pencil-ink-pen-i-love-art-when-i-go-on-tour-and-visit/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I think of me being a painter eventually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-barrett/i-think-of-me-being-a-painter-eventually/) [Syd Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-barrett/) > [You can think of a painter as a trio - the artist, his talent and his muse, the last two always on the lookout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/you-can-think-of-a-painter-as-a-trio-the-artist-his-talent-and-his/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“Of course, you pretend to be the author. You have to. You think, I now choose to go to lunch, when that monotone beep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/of-course-you-pretend-to-be-the-author-you-have-to-you-think-i-now/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think, if one is a painter, all you experience does come out when you’re painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/i-think-if-one-is-a-painter-all-you-experience-does-come-out-when-you/) [Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/) > [I use different media, but I still think as a painter. I organize my forms and colors on a screen like a painter does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-lux/i-use-different-media-but-i-still-think-as-a-painter-i-organize-my/) [Loretta Lux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-lux/) > [“You think you're the painter, but you're the canvas”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-think-you-re-the-painter-but-you-re-the-canvas/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I was beginning to learn that your life is a story told about you, not one that you tell. Of course, you pretend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-was-beginning-to-learn-that-your-life-is-a-story-told-about-you-not/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I am not a painter. I am a poet. / Why? I think I would rather be / a painter, but I am not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/i-am-not-a-painter-i-am-a-poet-why-i-think-i-would-rather-be-a/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. 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