--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: School and things that painters have…" description: "\"School and things that painters have taught me even keep me from painting as I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to be at least paint as ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/georgia-o-keeffe-2763_artist_school-and-things-that-painters-have-tau_2408620.png" --- # School and things that painters have taught me even keep… ![“School and things that painters have taught me even keep me from painting as I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to be at least paint as I wanted to and say what I wanted to when I painted as that seemed to be the only thing I could do that didn't concern anybody but myself. I found…” quote by Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/georgia-o-keeffe-2763_artist_school-and-things-that-painters-have-tau_2408620.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/georgia-o-keeffe-2763_artist_school-and-things-that-painters-have-tau_2408620.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/georgia-o-keeffe-2763_artist_school-and-things-that-painters-have-tau_2408620.png) > “School and things that painters have taught me even keep me from painting as I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to be at least paint as I wanted to and say what I wanted to when I painted as that seemed to be the only thing I could do that didn't concern anybody but myself. I found that I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn't say in any other way things that I had no words for.” [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Painting allows expression of emotions and ideas that words cannot capture, using color and shape to convey personal truths. **In simple terms:** Art speaks when words fail. Key Takeaway Use visual art to express the inexpressible. Themes art self‑expression creativity Mood contemplative introspective Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - personal journaling - design projects - therapy through art - teaching art Key Concepts visual language emotional catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How can you translate your emotions into visual media? - What colors represent your current mood? A Different Perspective Not everyone can translate feelings into visual form easily. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Decided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decided/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-paint-1107143/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Taught Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-painting-5945162/) [Things Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-painters-5734643/) [Very stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-stupid/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## 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/) > [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 think if you're a creative person, then you're always kinda looking to move things along - 'Where else can I go? Where can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/i-think-if-you-re-a-creative-person-then-you-re-always-kinda-looking/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [“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/) > [Robert von Neumann taught painting, and when I finally got into a painting class of his, he reacted in much the same way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/robert-von-neumann-taught-painting-and-when-i-finally-got-into-a/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Almost any fool can paint an academy picture, and any imbecile can shoot off a Kodak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/almost-any-fool-can-paint-an-academy-picture-and-any-imbecile-can/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Michael's Powell art director was a painter and they had a wonderful friendship and artistic understanding. Michael himself, in the way he designed his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/michael-s-powell-art-director-was-a-painter-and-they-had-a-wonderful/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [At concerts, for me, the orchestra was like a painter. It flooded me with all the colours of the rainbow. If the violin came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/at-concerts-for-me-the-orchestra-was-like-a-painter-it-flooded-me/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [Made up of the glories of the most precious gems, to describe them is a matter of inexpressible difficulty. For there is amongst them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/made-up-of-the-glories-of-the-most-precious-gems-to-describe-them-is/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [I know I can not paint a flower, I can not paint the sun on the desert on a bright summer morning but maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-know-i-can-not-paint-a-flower-i-can-not-paint-the-sun-on-the-desert/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Colour, as the strange and magnificent expression of the inscrutable spectrum of Eternity, is beautiful and important to me as a painter; I use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/colour-as-the-strange-and-magnificent-expression-of-the-inscrutable/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Shut your eyes, wait, think of nothing. Now, open them ... one sees nothing but a great coloured undulation. What then? An irradiation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/shut-your-eyes-wait-think-of-nothing-now-open-them-one-sees-nothing/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [My paintings are about light, about the way things look in their environment and especially about how things look painted. Form, colour and space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-goings/my-paintings-are-about-light-about-the-way-things-look-in-their/) [Ralph Goings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-goings/) ## More by Georgia O'Keeffe > [Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. Since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/singing-has-always-seemed-to-me-the-most-perfect-means-of-expression/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [When I think of death, I only regret that I will not be able to see this beautiful country anymore unless the Indians are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/when-i-think-of-death-i-only-regret-that-i-will-not-be-able-to-see/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I have a single track mind. I work on an idea for a long time. It's like getting acquainted with a person, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-have-a-single-track-mind-i-work-on-an-idea-for-a-long-time-it-s/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/you-get-whatever-accomplishment-you-are-willing-to-declare/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [“I said to myself 'I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me--shapes and idea so near to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-said-to-myself-i-have-things-in-my-head-that-are-not-like-what/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I'd been taught to paint like other people, and I thought, what's the use? I couldn't do any better than they, or even as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-d-been-taught-to-paint-like-other-people-and-i-thought-what-s-the/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I believe an artist is the last person in the world who can afford to be affected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-believe-an-artist-is-the-last-person-in-the-world-who-can-afford-to/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [My first memory is of the brightness of light ... light all around. I was sitting among pillows on a quilt on the ground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/my-first-memory-is-of-the-brightness-of-light-light-all-around-i-was/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Before I put brush to canvas, I question, 'Is this mine? ...Is it influenced by some idea which I have acquired from some man?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/before-i-put-brush-to-canvas-i-question-is-this-mine-is-it-influenced/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I decided to start anew-to strip away what I had been taught, to accept as true my own thinking. This was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-decided-to-start-anew-to-strip-away-what-i-had-been-taught-to/) [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/) > [My painting is what I have to give back to the world for what the world gives to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/my-painting-is-what-i-have-to-give-back-to-the-world-for-what-the/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [He wanted head and hands and arms on a pillow - in many different positions. I was asked to move my hands in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/he-wanted-head-and-hands-and-arms-on-a-pillow-in-many-different/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I feel there is something unexplored about woman that only a woman can explore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-feel-there-is-something-unexplored-about-woman-that-only-a-woman/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) [Explore all 151 Georgia O'Keeffe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) ## 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. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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": "School and things that painters have taught me even keep me from painting as I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to be at least paint as I wanted to and say what I wanted to when I painted as that seemed to be the only thing I could do that didn't concern anybody but myself. 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