---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry…"
description: "\"I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I foresee it. It transforms itself by the actual paint. I don't in fact know very often what the pai..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/francis-bacon-297_art_i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry_1527551.jpg"
---

#  I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I…

![“I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I foresee it. It transforms itself by the actual paint. I don't in fact know very often what the paint will do, and it does many things which are very much better than I could make it do.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/francis-bacon-297_art_i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry_1527551.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/francis-bacon-297_art_i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry_1527551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/francis-bacon-297_art_i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry_1527551.jpg)

> “I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I foresee it. It transforms itself by the actual paint. I don't in fact know very often what the paint will do, and it does many things which are very much better than I could make it do.”

[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.

The speaker predicts outcomes but rarely executes them as imagined; reality reshapes plans in unforeseen, often better ways.

**In simple terms:** Plans change when acted upon.

Key Takeaway

Embrace flexibility in execution.

Themes

planning uncertainty creativity

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- project management
- artistic creation
- personal goals
- scientific research

Key Concepts

determinism emergent outcomes

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you adapt when reality diverges from your plan?
- What benefits arise from unexpected changes?

A Different Perspective

Predicting does not guarantee control; outcomes may differ.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/)

## Related quotes

> [Sometimes I seem to be two people. One who does not paint and one who does. The one who does not paint assumes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pratt/sometimes-i-seem-to-be-two-people-one-who-does-not-paint-and-one-who/)

[Mary Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pratt/)

> [“Although 'to paint' means something like "to cause to be covered with paint," one does not 'paint a brush' when one dips it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/although-to-paint-means-something-like-to-cause-to-be-covered-with/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [Knowledge is like paint; it does no good until it is applied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doe-zantamata/knowledge-is-like-paint-it-does-no-good-until-it-is-applied/)

[Doe Zantamata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doe-zantamata/)

> [Education is all paint - it does not alter the nature of the wood that lies under it, it only improves its appearance a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-hester-stanhope/education-is-all-paint-it-does-not-alter-the-nature-of-the-wood-that/)

[Lady Hester Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-hester-stanhope/)

> [He who does not see things in their depth should not call himself a radical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/he-who-does-not-see-things-in-their-depth-should-not-call-himself-a/)

[Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/)

> [Everyone does things for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/everyone-does-things-for-love/)

[Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/)

> [I have always been a person who does things differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushrat-bharucha/i-have-always-been-a-person-who-does-things-differently/)

[Nushrat Bharucha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushrat-bharucha/)

> [Pressure does things to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasper-schmeichel/pressure-does-things-to-people/)

[Kasper Schmeichel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasper-schmeichel/)

> [If someone should ask me, 'What does the soul do?' I would say, It does two things. It loves. And it creates. Those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/if-someone-should-ask-me-what-does-the-soul-do-i-would-say-it-does/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [I think, like I always talk about - I think every offense does their things that they do well. You also want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-jones/i-think-like-i-always-talk-about-i-think-every-offense-does-their/)

[Mac Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-jones/)

> [Everything that exists in your life, does so because of two things: something you did or something you didn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/everything-that-exists-in-your-life-does-so-because-of-two-things/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Sometimes it is those that nobody imagines anything of that does the things that nobody can imagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/sometimes-it-is-those-that-nobody-imagines-anything-of-that-does-the/)

[Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/)

> [“Everyone does things they regret, and I’m no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-johnson/everyone-does-things-they-regret-and-i-m-no-exception/)

[Missy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-johnson/)

> [Technology doesn't just do things for us. It does things to us, changing not just what we do but who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-turkle/technology-doesn-t-just-do-things-for-us-it-does-things-to-us/)

[Sherry Turkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-turkle/)

> [Why does anyone do the things they do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clyde-bruckman/why-does-anyone-do-the-things-they-do/)

Clyde Bruckman

## 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 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 foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I foresee it. It transforms itself by the actual paint. I don't in fact know very often what the paint will do, and it does many things which are very much better than I could make it do.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Francis Bacon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry-it-out-as-i-foresee-it-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry-it-out-as-i-foresee-it-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/francis-bacon-297_art_i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry_1527551.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/francis-bacon-297_art_i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry_1527551.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/francis-bacon-297_art_i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry_1527551.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I foresee it. It transforms itself by the actual paint. I…” — Francis Bacon",
                "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": "Francis Bacon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I foresee it and yet I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry-it-out-as-i-foresee-it-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-foresee-it-and-yet-i-hardly-ever-carry-it-out-as-i-foresee-it-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
