--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am unable to make any distinction…" description: "\"I am unable to make any distinction between the feeling I get from life and the way I translate that feeling into painting.\" — Henri Matisse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/henri-matisse-1641_distinction_i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-betw_2151596.jpg" --- # I am unable to make any distinction between the feeling I… ![“I am unable to make any distinction between the feeling I get from life and the way I translate that feeling into painting.” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/henri-matisse-1641_distinction_i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-betw_2151596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/henri-matisse-1641_distinction_i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-betw_2151596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/henri-matisse-1641_distinction_i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-betw_2151596.jpg) > “I am unable to make any distinction between the feeling I get from life and the way I translate that feeling into painting.” [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He expresses that his emotional experience of life is inseparable from his artistic expression, making the two indistinguishable. **In simple terms:** Life’s feelings and painting are one. Key Takeaway Blend feeling and creation without separation. Themes art emotion creativity identity Mood introspective inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - teaching art - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - Can art ever be purely emotional without skill? - How do external factors shape personal expression? A Different Perspective The statement may ignore the role of technique and external influences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [Words are the children of reason and, therefore, can't explain it. They really can't translate feeling because they're not part of it. 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I will make a movie in my mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-vanderwaal/i-like-to-make-little-movies-or-fake-stories-about-something-that/) [Grace VanderWaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-vanderwaal/) > [“Neither one of them hesitated to translate feeling into action, when an opportunity arose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/neither-one-of-them-hesitated-to-translate-feeling-into-action-when/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [It is through the human figure that I best succeed in expressing the nearly religious feeling that I have towards life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/it-is-through-the-human-figure-that-i-best-succeed-in-expressing-the/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I am unable to distinguish between the feeling I have for life and my way of expressing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-between-the-feeling-i-have-for-life-and-my/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The essential thing is to spring forth, to express the bolt of lightning one senses upon contact with a thing. The function of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-essential-thing-is-to-spring-forth-to-express-the-bolt-of/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [A distinction is made between artists who work directly from nature and those who work purely from imagination. Neither if these methods should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/a-distinction-is-made-between-artists-who-work-directly-from-nature/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I'm just looking at whatever moment I'm at, trying to tell a story that at that time feels like it needs to be told,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-wein/i-m-just-looking-at-whatever-moment-i-m-at-trying-to-tell-a-story/) [Daryl Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-wein/) > [Poem Titled {I Know the feeling} ~When life not going good and it seems all you doing is suffering and crying… ~It makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cleveland/poem-titled-i-know-the-feeling-when-life-not-going-good-and-it-seems/) Malcolm Cleveland > [There is truly no better feeling in life than to hold the life you made in your arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brii-ann/there-is-truly-no-better-feeling-in-life-than-to-hold-the-life-you/) [Brii Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brii-ann/) > [“You ever get the feeling your life is a string festooned with bells and tie4d to hundreds of others you don't know anything about?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-murphy/you-ever-get-the-feeling-your-life-is-a-string-festooned-with-bells/) [C.E. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-murphy/) > [“I suppose there hasn’t been a single month since the war, in any trade you care to name, in which there weren’t more men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-suppose-there-hasn-t-been-a-single-month-since-the-war-in-any-trade/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I'm almost completely without family and it's a very odd feeling in life. I have no children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-m-almost-completely-without-family-and-it-s-a-very-odd-feeling-in/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that-everything-ends-well-hope-is/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## More by Henri Matisse > [The wall around the window does not create two worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-wall-around-the-window-does-not-create-two-worlds/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Arrival = Prison, and the artist must never be a prisoner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/arrival-prison-and-the-artist-must-never-be-a-prisoner/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [To arrive is to be in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/to-arrive-is-to-be-in-prison/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in-i-asked-for-my-money-back-on/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [A painting in an interior spreads joy around it by the colors, which calm us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/a-painting-in-an-interior-spreads-joy-around-it-by-the-colors-which/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/color-was-not-given-to-us-in-order-that-we-should-imitate-nature-it/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [If it is practiced by a man of taste, the photograph will have the appearance of art (but) the photographer must...intervene as little as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-it-is-practiced-by-a-man-of-taste-the-photograph-will-have-the/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-have-always-tried-to-hide-my-efforts-and-wished-my-works-to-have-a/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The chief function of color should be to serve expression as well as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-chief-function-of-color-should-be-to-serve-expression-as-well-as/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [One gets into a state of creativity by conscious work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/one-gets-into-a-state-of-creativity-by-conscious-work/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [My pictures are made up of four or five colors that collide with one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/my-pictures-are-made-up-of-four-or-five-colors-that-collide-with-one/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [What I dream of is an art of balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/what-i-dream-of-is-an-art-of-balance/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [...I am driven on by an idea that I really only grasp as it grows with the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-driven-on-by-an-idea-that-i-really-only-grasp-as-it-grows-with/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-don-t-paint-things-i-only-paint-the-difference-between-things/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [After a half-century of hard work and reflection the wall is still there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/after-a-half-century-of-hard-work-and-reflection-the-wall-is-still/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) [Explore all 219 Henri Matisse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## 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 > [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": "I am unable to make any distinction between the feeling I get from life and the way I translate that feeling into painting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henri Matisse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-between-the-feeling-i-get-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-between-the-feeling-i-get-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/henri-matisse-1641_distinction_i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-betw_2151596.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/henri-matisse-1641_distinction_i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-betw_2151596.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/henri-matisse-1641_distinction_i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-betw_2151596.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am unable to make any distinction between the feeling I get from life and the way I translate that feeling…” — Henri Matisse", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Henri Matisse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am unable to make any...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-between-the-feeling-i-get-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-unable-to-make-any-distinction-between-the-feeling-i-get-from/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```