--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I paint ideas, not things. My intention…" description: "\"I paint ideas, not things. My intention is less to paint works that are pleasing to the eye than to suggest great thoughts which will speak to the imag..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/george-frederic-watts-96703_artist_i-paint-ideas-not-things-my-intention-is_320468.png" --- # I paint ideas, not things. My intention is less to paint… ![“I paint ideas, not things. My intention is less to paint works that are pleasing to the eye than to suggest great thoughts which will speak to the imagination and the heart and will arouse all that is noblest and best in man.” quote by George Frederic Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/george-frederic-watts-96703_artist_i-paint-ideas-not-things-my-intention-is_320468.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/george-frederic-watts-96703_artist_i-paint-ideas-not-things-my-intention-is_320468.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea2/george-frederic-watts-96703_artist_i-paint-ideas-not-things-my-intention-is_320468.png) > “I paint ideas, not things. My intention is less to paint works that are pleasing to the eye than to suggest great thoughts which will speak to the imagination and the heart and will arouse all that is noblest and best in man.” [George Frederic Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-frederic-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should convey grand ideas that stir imagination and the noblest parts of humanity. **In simple terms:** Paint ideas, not just pleasing images. Key Takeaway Create art that inspires deep thought. Themes art imagination ideas humanity creativity Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type artist:1 eye:0 heart:1 ideas:1 imagination:1 intention:1 men:0 paint:1 painting:1 speak:0 great thoughts:1 paint ideas:1 intention paint:1 When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - educational workshops - public murals Key Concepts visual expression philosophical messaging emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - What idea do you want your art to convey? - How can art reach the heart? A Different Perspective Art may be misinterpreted without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Great Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-thoughts/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Intention Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention-paint-3021646/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-ideas-3021645/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) ## Related quotes > [Paint ideas, paint thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-pyle/paint-ideas-paint-thought/) [Howard Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-pyle/) > [“Dare to dwell on great thoughts, you will be great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/dare-to-dwell-on-great-thoughts-you-will-be-great/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/all-great-deeds-and-all-great-thoughts-have-a-ridiculous-beginning/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The roads to the stars are open only to those who grasp the great thoughts!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-roads-to-the-stars-are-open-only-to-those-who-grasp-the-great/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Great thoughts of your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great thoughts of Christ will pilot you into the haven of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/great-thoughts-of-your-sin-alone-will-drive-you-to-despair-but-great/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Forms of energy from nature gave my father trouble. He refused to believe he was going to die. He had these weird delusions. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/forms-of-energy-from-nature-gave-my-father-trouble-he-refused-to/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [The Dalai Lama once said that 'If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change!' This is a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-dalai-lama-once-said-that-if-science-proves-some-belief-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-truly-great-thoughts-are-conceived-while-walking/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The ground of all great thoughts is sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/the-ground-of-all-great-thoughts-is-sadness/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [“If a man has a capacity for great thoughts, he is likely to overtake them before he is decrepit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/if-a-man-has-a-capacity-for-great-thoughts-he-is-likely-to-overtake/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/great-thoughts-speak-only-to-the-thoughtful-mind-but-great-actions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Great thoughts go best with common duties. Whatever therefore may be your office regard it as a fragment in an immeasurable ministry of love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-foss-westcott/great-thoughts-go-best-with-common-duties-whatever-therefore-may-be-2/) [Brooke Foss Westcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-foss-westcott/) > [Great thoughts always come from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/great-thoughts-always-come-from-the-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“Great thoughts go best with common duties. Whatever therefore may be you office regard it as a fragment in an immeasurable ministry of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-foss-westcott/great-thoughts-go-best-with-common-duties-whatever-therefore-may-be/) [Brooke Foss Westcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-foss-westcott/) ## More by George Frederic Watts > [In the Bible (Hebrews, 6:19), hope is ‘an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-frederic-watts/in-the-bible-hebrews-6-19-hope-is-an-anchor-of-the-soul-both-sure-and/) [George Frederic Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-frederic-watts/) [Explore all 2 George Frederic Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-frederic-watts/) ## 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. 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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": "I paint ideas, not things. 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