--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I dont think you can lightly paint a…" description: "\"I dont think you can lightly paint a picture. Its an activity I take very seriously.\" — Howard Hodgkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/howard-hodgkin-17509_activity_i-dont-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-pic_572592.jpg" --- # I dont think you can lightly paint a picture. Its an… ![“I dont think you can lightly paint a picture. Its an activity I take very seriously.” quote by Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/howard-hodgkin-17509_activity_i-dont-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-pic_572592.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/howard-hodgkin-17509_activity_i-dont-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-pic_572592.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/howard-hodgkin-17509_activity_i-dont-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-pic_572592.jpg) > “I dont think you can lightly paint a picture. Its an activity I take very seriously.” [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art requires deep commitment; casual approach undermines its seriousness. **In simple terms:** Take art seriously. Key Takeaway Approach creative work with dedication. Themes art commitment craft Mood reflective thoughtful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - painting - exhibition - teaching Key Concepts creative process integrity Questions to Reflect On - What does seriousness look like in your practice? - How do you balance rigor and spontaneity? A Different Perspective Treating art lightly can diminish its value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think you can lightly paint a picture. It's an activity I take very seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-don-t-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-picture-it-s-an-activity-i-take/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [When I paint a picture of a house, that goes back to my roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-ruscha/when-i-paint-a-picture-of-a-house-that-goes-back-to-my-roots/) [Edward Ruscha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-ruscha/) > [Life's a canvas you're an artist, Paint a picture of a garden then go and marvel at the harvest you created from your conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-a-canvas-you-re-an-artist-paint-a-picture-of-a-garden-then-go/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The trick is to paint a picture that doesn't exist, and yet that fits perfectly into an artist's body of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-beltracchi/the-trick-is-to-paint-a-picture-that-doesn-t-exist-and-yet-that-fits/) [Wolfgang Beltracchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-beltracchi/) > [“You paint the picture of your surroundings. Paint it beautifully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-posey/you-paint-the-picture-of-your-surroundings-paint-it-beautifully/) [A.D. Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-posey/) > [Paint your picture by means of the lights. Lights define texture and color - shadows define form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-pyle/paint-your-picture-by-means-of-the-lights-lights-define-texture-and/) [Howard Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-pyle/) > [I wanted to paint a picture some day that people would stand before and forget that it was made of paint. I wanted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-wanted-to-paint-a-picture-some-day-that-people-would-stand-before/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [“I wish I could paint the picture inside my mind for you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-wood/i-wish-i-could-paint-the-picture-inside-my-mind-for-you/) [Luke Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-wood/) > [Oftentimes I feel like I can, through the music, paint a picture of something that I can't look anywhere and see in my real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-mensa/oftentimes-i-feel-like-i-can-through-the-music-paint-a-picture-of/) [Vic Mensa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-mensa/) > [If you paint a picture and I paint a picture, we each want to do it our own way. And we'll stand or fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-west/if-you-paint-a-picture-and-i-paint-a-picture-we-each-want-to-do-it/) [Adam West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-west/) > [Envision what the end result is supposed to be... what do you want to be when you grow up? Where do you see yourself?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fat-joe/envision-what-the-end-result-is-supposed-to-be-what-do-you-want-to-be/) [Fat Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fat-joe/) > [In 1984, I was contacted by Michael Taylor, who had won a commission from a sponsor and decided he would like to paint a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/in-1984-i-was-contacted-by-michael-taylor-who-had-won-a-commission/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [Theres a blank canvas in front of you. You are the artist of your life, and you are free to paint any picture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishu/theres-a-blank-canvas-in-front-of-you-you-are-the-artist-of-your-life/) [Nishu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishu/) > [“A virtue never tested is no virtue at all. - Must I Paint You a Picture ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/a-virtue-never-tested-is-no-virtue-at-all-must-i-paint-you-a-picture/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [It takes two guys to tell a story, paint a picture, so our audience can be entertained and brought into the match. You need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-steamboat/it-takes-two-guys-to-tell-a-story-paint-a-picture-so-our-audience-can/) [Ricky Steamboat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-steamboat/) ## More by Howard Hodgkin > [My pictures really finish themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/my-pictures-really-finish-themselves/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [To be a painter now is to be part of a very small, endangered species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/to-be-a-painter-now-is-to-be-part-of-a-very-small-endangered-species/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [The only way an artist can communicate with the world at large is on the level of feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/the-only-way-an-artist-can-communicate-with-the-world-at-large-is-on/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I don't think you can lightly paint a picture. It's an activity I take very seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-don-t-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-picture-it-s-an-activity-i-take/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I never think that anything I do is courageous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-never-think-that-anything-i-do-is-courageous/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [In the United States there has been a kind of a structure in the Modern art world. The New York School was nearly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/in-the-united-states-there-has-been-a-kind-of-a-structure-in-the/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I'm very envious of the few artists who are any good and still do portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-m-very-envious-of-the-few-artists-who-are-any-good-and-still-do/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I am isolated as an artist, not as a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-am-isolated-as-an-artist-not-as-a-person/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [Matisse was very clear about saying that you have to blow your own trumpet and explain yourself, which I think has been slightly forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/matisse-was-very-clear-about-saying-that-you-have-to-blow-your-own/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [It takes a long time for the gleam in the eye to turn into something solid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/it-takes-a-long-time-for-the-gleam-in-the-eye-to-turn-into-something/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I fell through a crack for years. Historically, I am a nothing because I fit in no category. I can only be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-fell-through-a-crack-for-years-historically-i-am-a-nothing-because/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I find old copies of National Gallery catalogues, which are written in the dryest possible prose, infinitely soothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-find-old-copies-of-national-gallery-catalogues-which-are-written-in/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [Eventually, a collection ceases to be a personal indulgence and assumes its own identity. In fact, it becomes a thing in its own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/eventually-a-collection-ceases-to-be-a-personal-indulgence-and/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I'm vulnerable to criticism. Any artist is, because you work alone in your studio and, until recently, critics were the only way you'd get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-m-vulnerable-to-criticism-any-artist-is-because-you-work-alone-in/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I think words come between the spectator and the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator-and-the-picture/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) [Explore all 37 Howard Hodgkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I dont think you can lightly paint a picture. 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