--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If, while I'm painting, I distort or…" description: "\"If, while I'm painting, I distort or destroy a motif, it is not a planned or conscious act, but rather it has a different justification: I see the moti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/gerhard-richter-2249_art_if-while-i-m-painting-i-distort-or-destr_3122063.jpg" --- # If, while I'm painting, I distort or destroy a motif, it… ![“If, while I'm painting, I distort or destroy a motif, it is not a planned or conscious act, but rather it has a different justification: I see the motif, the way I painted it, is somehow ugly or unbearable. Then I try to follow my feelings and make it attractive. And that means a process of…” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/gerhard-richter-2249_art_if-while-i-m-painting-i-distort-or-destr_3122063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/gerhard-richter-2249_art_if-while-i-m-painting-i-distort-or-destr_3122063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/gerhard-richter-2249_art_if-while-i-m-painting-i-distort-or-destr_3122063.jpg) > “If, while I'm painting, I distort or destroy a motif, it is not a planned or conscious act, but rather it has a different justification: I see the motif, the way I painted it, is somehow ugly or unbearable. Then I try to follow my feelings and make it attractive. And that means a process of painting, changing or destroying - for however long it takes - until I think it has improved. And I don't demand an explanation from myself as to why this is so.” [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 repeatedly alters a work until it feels aesthetically acceptable, without rationalizing the urge to change. **In simple terms:** He keeps changing a painting until it looks good, without asking why. Key Takeaway Accept intuition over analysis in creative process. Themes creativity intuition artistic process self‑acceptance Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - personal expression - studio practice - art criticism Key Concepts aesthetic judgment psychology of art imperfection tolerance Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to keep altering your work? - When is it okay to stop? A Different Perspective The method may lead to endless revisions, hindering completion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Attractive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attractive/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-justification-4261733/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Motif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motif/) [Motifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motifs/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Changing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-changing-1532337/) [Painting Distort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-distort-5485574/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Ugly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugly/) [Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I have no motif, only motivation. I believe that motivation is the real thing, the natural thing, and that the motif is old-fashioned, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-have-no-motif-only-motivation-i-believe-that-motivation-is-the-real/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily grasped and understood by the beholder. By the elimination of superfluous detail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sisley/the-motif-must-always-be-set-down-in-a-simple-way-easily-grasped-and/) [Alfred Sisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sisley/) > [The way one sees is also dependent upon one's emotional state of mind. This is why a motif can be looked at in so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/the-way-one-sees-is-also-dependent-upon-one-s-emotional-state-of-mind/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [motif, n. You don’t love me as much as I love you. You don’t love me as much as I love you. You don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/motif-n-you-don-t-love-me-as-much-as-i-love-you-you-don-t-love-me-as/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [I should like to take the wind and water and sand as a motif and work with them, but it has to be simplified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-dove/i-should-like-to-take-the-wind-and-water-and-sand-as-a-motif-and-work/) [Arthur Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-dove/) > [There was this point about, you know, the basic point there as well - this statute treats some parts of the country different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-verrilli-jr/there-was-this-point-about-you-know-the-basic-point-there-as-well/) [Donald Verrilli Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-verrilli-jr/) > [“I was a masterpiece; a painting in itself. He was changing me, molding me, and making me into something brand new. I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-deshane/i-was-a-masterpiece-a-painting-in-itself-he-was-changing-me-molding/) [Evelyn Deshane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-deshane/) > [You see, should I stand in front of a landscape and paint it, I'm completely ignoring the factor of time. While I am painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-see-should-i-stand-in-front-of-a-landscape-and-paint-it-i-m/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I have a thing about stars, they are my favourite motif.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-have-a-thing-about-stars-they-are-my-favourite-motif/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [That's the kind of motif I bring to the books - that people take charge of their own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/that-s-the-kind-of-motif-i-bring-to-the-books-that-people-take-charge/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [“God’s will; rather, God’s will was accomplished in spite of the conflict. Another important motif is that “the older will serve the younger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-sailhamer/god-s-will-rather-god-s-will-was-accomplished-in-spite-of-the/) [John H. Sailhamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-sailhamer/) > [“The thought washed over me like water on a flower shop window, like a soothing, cool lotion after you've showered and spent the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-thought-washed-over-me-like-water-on-a-flower-shop-window-like-a/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I know so little, she tells herself again, searching her mother's face. In the end, we know so little. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-richler/i-know-so-little-she-tells-herself-again-searching-her-mother-s-face/) [Emma Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-richler/) > [Here on the edge of the river, the motifs are very plentiful, the same subject seen from a different angle gives a subject for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/here-on-the-edge-of-the-river-the-motifs-are-very-plentiful-the-same/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [There is no roles. No one is keeping any roles. The drummer is also answering everybody and everything. So it is a constant conversation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-vitous/there-is-no-roles-no-one-is-keeping-any-roles-the-drummer-is-also/) [Miroslav Vitous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-vitous/) ## More by Gerhard Richter > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [They are specific places I have discovered here and there when I am on the road to take photos. I go especially to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/they-are-specific-places-i-have-discovered-here-and-there-when-i-am/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [To me, grey is the welcome and only possible equivalent for indifference, noncommitment, absence of opinion, absence of shape. 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. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The photograph is the only picture that can truly convey information, even if it is technically faulty and the object can barely be identified.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-photograph-is-the-only-picture-that-can-truly-convey-information/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Perhaps the choice is a negative one, in that I was trying to avoid everything that touched on well-known issues - or any issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/perhaps-the-choice-is-a-negative-one-in-that-i-was-trying-to-avoid/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Gray is the color... the most important of all... absent of opinion, nothing, neither/nor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/gray-is-the-color-the-most-important-of-all-absent-of-opinion-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [All photographs are far more important than any painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/all-photographs-are-far-more-important-than-any-painting/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [You can compare it to dreams: you have a very specific and individual pictorial language that you either accept or that you can translate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/you-can-compare-it-to-dreams-you-have-a-very-specific-and-individual/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [What attracted me about my mirrors was the idea of having nothing manipulated in them. 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 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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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": "If, while I'm painting, I distort or destroy a motif, it is not a planned or conscious act, but rather it has a different justification: I see the motif, the way I painted it, is somehow ugly or unbearable. 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