--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think I can do this - painting…" description: "\"I don't think I can do this - painting under observation. It's the worst thing there is, worse than being in the hospital.\" — Gerhard Richter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f00/gerhard-richter-2249_artist_i-don-t-think-i-can-do-this-painting-und_297429.jpg" --- # I don't think I can do this - painting under observation… ![“I don't think I can do this - painting under observation. It's the worst thing there is, worse than being in the hospital.” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f00/gerhard-richter-2249_artist_i-don-t-think-i-can-do-this-painting-und_297429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f00/gerhard-richter-2249_artist_i-don-t-think-i-can-do-this-painting-und_297429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f00/gerhard-richter-2249_artist_i-don-t-think-i-can-do-this-painting-und_297429.jpg) > “I don't think I can do this - painting under observation. It's the worst thing there is, worse than being in the hospital.” [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist feels that painting under observation is unbearable, worse than illness, highlighting vulnerability and pressure of scrutiny. **In simple terms:** Painting while watched feels worse than being in a hospital. Key Takeaway Seek private space for creative work. Themes art vulnerability performance anxiety creativity Mood anxious reflective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - public exhibitions - art education - mental health support Key Concepts observer effect self-consciousness artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How does audience presence affect your creative process? - Can you find ways to turn observation into motivation? A Different Perspective The pressure of an audience can also inspire growth and focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Hospital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hospital/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Observation Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation-worst-2847554/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-observation-2847555/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-painting-280672/) [Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse/) [Worse Hospital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse-hospital-2847553/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-thing/) ## Related quotes > [I think I'm painting a picture of two women but it may turn out to be a landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-think-i-m-painting-a-picture-of-two-women-but-it-may-turn-out-to-be/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [You are not to think of painting as something separate from drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-are-not-to-think-of-painting-as-something-separate-from-drawing/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [I'm not anti conceptual art. I don't think painting must be revived, exactly. 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I have never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/i-do-not-think-my-painting-has-ever-been-revolutionary-it-was-not/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [What makes you think painting is any less difficult than brain surgery?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-willard/what-makes-you-think-painting-is-any-less-difficult-than-brain-surgery/) [Christopher Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-willard/) > [I don't want to be a film-maker. I think painting is far more exciting and profound. 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But grey, like formlessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/to-me-grey-is-the-welcome-and-only-possible-equivalent-for/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Now that we do not have priests and philosophers any more, artists are the most important people in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/now-that-we-do-not-have-priests-and-philosophers-any-more-artists-are/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Yes, we were amazed when that happened. It was a real joke to us. Konrad Lueg and I did a Happening, and we used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/yes-we-were-amazed-when-that-happened-it-was-a-real-joke-to-us-konrad/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. 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A piece of bought mirror. Just hung there, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/what-attracted-me-about-my-mirrors-was-the-idea-of-having-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [But it is also untrue that I have nothing specific in mind. As with my landscapes: I see countless landscapes, photograph barely 1 in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/but-it-is-also-untrue-that-i-have-nothing-specific-in-mind-as-with-my/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [My landscapes are not only beautiful or nostalgic, with a Romantic or classical suggestion of lost Paradises, but above all 'untruthful'...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/my-landscapes-are-not-only-beautiful-or-nostalgic-with-a-romantic-or/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [I have always been structured. What has changed is the proportions. Now it is eight hours of paperwork and one of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-have-always-been-structured-what-has-changed-is-the-proportions-now/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) [Explore all 176 Gerhard Richter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## 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. 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