--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Up until 35 I had a slightly skewed world…" description: "\"Up until 35 I had a slightly skewed world view. I honestly believed everybody in the world wanted to make abstract paintings, and people only became la..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/frank-stella-17787_abstract_up-until-35-i-had-a-slightly-skewed-worl_2881671.jpg" --- # Up until 35 I had a slightly skewed world view. I honestly… ![“Up until 35 I had a slightly skewed world view. I honestly believed everybody in the world wanted to make abstract paintings, and people only became lawyers and doctors and brokers and things because they couldn't make abstract paintings” quote by Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/frank-stella-17787_abstract_up-until-35-i-had-a-slightly-skewed-worl_2881671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/frank-stella-17787_abstract_up-until-35-i-had-a-slightly-skewed-worl_2881671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/frank-stella-17787_abstract_up-until-35-i-had-a-slightly-skewed-worl_2881671.jpg) > “Up until 35 I had a slightly skewed world view. I honestly believed everybody in the world wanted to make abstract paintings, and people only became lawyers and doctors and brokers and things because they couldn't make abstract paintings” [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He realized his early belief that everyone should pursue abstract art was unrealistic, recognizing diverse talents and career paths. **In simple terms:** He learned that not everyone can or wants to create abstract art. Key Takeaway Accept varied aspirations and talents. Themes self-discovery career artistic identity Mood reflective thoughtful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - career counseling - art education - personal reflection - creative workshops Key Concepts subjectivity identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How did this shift affect your own artistic choices? - Do you think society undervalues non‑artistic professions? A Different Perspective He may overgeneralize personal experience to others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Brokers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brokers/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-view/) ## Related quotes > [Abstract paintings must be as real as those created by the 16th century Italians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/abstract-paintings-must-be-as-real-as-those-created-by-the-16th/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [Even with painting, even abstract paintings, you need the incoming of, light on the canvas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/even-with-painting-even-abstract-paintings-you-need-the-incoming-of/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [If the abstract paintings show my reality, then the landscapes and still-lifes show my yearning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/if-the-abstract-paintings-show-my-reality-then-the-landscapes-and/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [In every respect, fantasy is like doing abstract paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/in-every-respect-fantasy-is-like-doing-abstract-paintings/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [I began in 1976, with small abstract paintings that allowed me to do what I had never let myself do: put something down at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-began-in-1976-with-small-abstract-paintings-that-allowed-me-to-do/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [When I'm not working on a children's book, I'm painting abstract paintings. That's probably the most joyous thing for me as an artist. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-grandpre/when-i-m-not-working-on-a-children-s-book-i-m-painting-abstract/) [Mary GrandPre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-grandpre/) > [Girls Are Like Abstract Paintings Even Though you Cant Understand Them Still They are Beautiful !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karal/girls-are-like-abstract-paintings-even-though-you-cant-understand/) Karal > [When I used to do abstract paintings at school, like everyone else, the tutor said these would make great curtains. I would always neglect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/when-i-used-to-do-abstract-paintings-at-school-like-everyone-else-the/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [I paint paintings of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/i-paint-paintings-of-people/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [So many of my paintings, people would be like, 'What more do you have to do?' But the smallest little things make all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-chaikin/so-many-of-my-paintings-people-would-be-like-what-more-do-you-have-to/) [Carly Chaikin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-chaikin/) > [Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/not-everybody-trusts-paintings-but-people-believe-photographs/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [I paint for the sheer joy of painting. I have never sold any of my paintings. I'd rather give them to people for free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeshi-kitano/i-paint-for-the-sheer-joy-of-painting-i-have-never-sold-any-of-my/) [Takeshi Kitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeshi-kitano/) > [I continue to make paintings of people and their moments in our time because I am of that time. Out of that I hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-silverman/i-continue-to-make-paintings-of-people-and-their-moments-in-our-time/) [Burton Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-silverman/) > [People are still making paintings. People are still enjoying paintings, looking at paintings. Paintings still have something to tell us. There's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/people-are-still-making-paintings-people-are-still-enjoying-paintings/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I was always very... impatient about showing my paintings to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-was-always-very-impatient-about-showing-my-paintings-to-people/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) ## More by Frank Stella > [Any artist can't get away from the way the world works, which is that it wants to know what you did, and you're only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/any-artist-can-t-get-away-from-the-way-the-world-works-which-is-that/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I want to make exalted art. A successful image has pictorial lift. I am looking for whatever is up there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-want-to-make-exalted-art-a-successful-image-has-pictorial-lift-i-am/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [The aim of art is to create space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/the-aim-of-art-is-to-create-space/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [What you see is what you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/what-you-see-is-what-you-see/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I always get into arguments with people who want to retain the old values in painting - the humanistic values that they always find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-always-get-into-arguments-with-people-who-want-to-retain-the-old/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [Abstract paintings must be as real as those created by the 16th century Italians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/abstract-paintings-must-be-as-real-as-those-created-by-the-16th/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [When I'm painting the picture, I'm really painting a picture. I may have a flat-footed technique, or something like that, but still, to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/when-i-m-painting-the-picture-i-m-really-painting-a-picture-i-may/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [All I want anyone to get out of my paintings, and all I ever get out of them, is the fact that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/all-i-want-anyone-to-get-out-of-my-paintings-and-all-i-ever-get-out/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [You see what you know!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/you-see-what-you-know/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [The integrity of being an artist for Frank Stella means going into the unknown.A great artist is somebody who's not scared to reinvent themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/the-integrity-of-being-an-artist-for-frank-stella-means-going-into/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [You couldn't forget Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Joan Miro either. And it had to be, you know, at least as good or better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/you-couldn-t-forget-pablo-picasso-henri-matisse-and-joan-miro-either/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I never noticed competing with other generations. There's competition within your own generation, but that competition is good. Maybe you're annoyed that somebody's getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-never-noticed-competing-with-other-generations-there-s-competition/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [One learns about painting by looking at and imitating other painters. I can't stress enough how important it is, if you are interested at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/one-learns-about-painting-by-looking-at-and-imitating-other-painters/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I'm more of a house painter.That's the way I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-m-more-of-a-house-painter-that-s-the-way-i-work/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I don't like to say I have given my life to art. I prefer to say art has given me my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-don-t-like-to-say-i-have-given-my-life-to-art-i-prefer-to-say-art/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) [Explore all 36 Frank Stella quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Up until 35 I had a slightly skewed world view. 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