--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Over the years I must have spent…" description: "\"Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each sheet in anticipation of reaching the perf..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/irving-penn-24767_anticipation_over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousan_1827687.png" --- # Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours… ![“Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each sheet in anticipation of reaching the perfect print.” quote by Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/irving-penn-24767_anticipation_over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousan_1827687.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/irving-penn-24767_anticipation_over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousan_1827687.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/irving-penn-24767_anticipation_over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousan_1827687.png) > “Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each sheet in anticipation of reaching the perfect print.” [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) ## 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 describes relentless dedication to perfecting a craft, highlighting the labor behind seemingly effortless results. **In simple terms:** Great work often hides long, quiet effort. Key Takeaway Value the unseen preparation behind excellence. Themes craftsmanship dedication perfection process patience Mood contemplative respectful inspirational Type artistic professional motivational When to use this quote - photography - design - writing - any skill development - performance preparation Key Concepts Artistic mastery work ethic attention to detail creative process Questions to Reflect On - What does "perfect" mean for you? - How can you balance effort with enjoyment? A Different Perspective Obsessive focus on perfection may cause burnout or stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I spent thousands of thousands of hours playing the piano, and by thousands of hours, I mean playing in cover bands or wedding bands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/i-spent-thousands-of-thousands-of-hours-playing-the-piano-and-by/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [I spent a lot of my life - 20 years of it - in war, training army trackers and commanding a tracker unit, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-savory/i-spent-a-lot-of-my-life-20-years-of-it-in-war-training-army-trackers/) [Allan Savory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-savory/) > [I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours helping families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-frost/i-ve-spent-thousands-upon-thousands-of-hours-helping-families/) [Jo Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-frost/) > [With anything you do and you dedicate yourself to and you dedicate thousands and thousands of hours, eventually you're gonna get a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davey-havok/with-anything-you-do-and-you-dedicate-yourself-to-and-you-dedicate/) [Davey Havok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davey-havok/) > [It never ceases to amaze me that companies will spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars teaching people 'how to sell,' and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gitomer/it-never-ceases-to-amaze-me-that-companies-will-spend-thousands-of/) [Jeffrey Gitomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-gitomer/) > [The training was rigorous, hundreds and thousands of hours of meditation, self-giving. But it was easy. I loved it. I would merge again and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-training-was-rigorous-hundreds-and-thousands-of-hours-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [In the end, what makes a book valuable is not the paper it's printed on, but the thousands of hours of work by dozens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/in-the-end-what-makes-a-book-valuable-is-not-the-paper-it-s-printed/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [As combat infantrymen and special operators, we received thousands of hours of firearms training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-a-mcchrystal/as-combat-infantrymen-and-special-operators-we-received-thousands-of/) [Stanley A. McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-a-mcchrystal/) > [I've had the joy of spending thousands of hours under the sea. I wish I could take people along to see what I see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/i-ve-had-the-joy-of-spending-thousands-of-hours-under-the-sea-i-wish/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [There was a lot of work that people don't know about that I did to establish my villain persona. There were a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-piper/there-was-a-lot-of-work-that-people-don-t-know-about-that-i-did-to/) [Roddy Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-piper/) > [Sometimes we have only ten minutes to be with the love of our life and thousands of hours to spend thinking about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/sometimes-we-have-only-ten-minutes-to-be-with-the-love-of-our-life/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've spent thousands of hours under water. And even in the deepest dive I have ever made, 2.5 miles (about 4 kilometers) down, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/i-ve-spent-thousands-of-hours-under-water-and-even-in-the-deepest/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [And of course there is nothing better than wearing the same T-shirt for days and not brushing my hair for weeks,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daria-werbowy/and-of-course-there-is-nothing-better-than-wearing-the-same-t-shirt/) [Daria Werbowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daria-werbowy/) > [All that the Devil asks is acquiescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-massie/all-that-the-devil-asks-is-acquiescence/) [Suzanne Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-massie/) > [ He \[A. J. Balfour\] was eminently one of the Cole Porter school of famous men, who only fell to rise again. Picking himself up… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-balfour/he-a-j-balfour-was-eminently-one-of-the-cole-porter-school-of-famous/) [Arthur Balfour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-balfour/) ## More by Irving Penn > [Photographing a cake can be art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/photographing-a-cake-can-be-art/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I am a professional photographer because it is the best way I know to earn the money I require to take care of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-am-a-professional-photographer-because-it-is-the-best-way-i-know-to/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [A beautiful print is a thing in itself, not just a halfway house on the way to the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/a-beautiful-print-is-a-thing-in-itself-not-just-a-halfway-house-on/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I share with many people the feeling that there is a sweetness and constancy to light that falls into a studio from the north…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-share-with-many-people-the-feeling-that-there-is-a-sweetness-and/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I feed on art more than I ever do on photographs. I can admire photography, but I wouldn't go to it out of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-feed-on-art-more-than-i-ever-do-on-photographs-i-can-admire/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Sometime in 1964 I realized that I was a victim of a printmaking obsession, a condition that persists today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sometime-in-1964-i-realized-that-i-was-a-victim-of-a-printmaking/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Liberman said to me, 'I must cut back on the work you do for Vogue. The editors don't like it. They say the photographs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/liberman-said-to-me-i-must-cut-back-on-the-work-you-do-for-vogue-the/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Many photographers feel their client is the subject. My client is a woman in Kansas who reads Vogue. I'm trying to intrigue, stimulate, feed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/many-photographers-feel-their-client-is-the-subject-my-client-is-a/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Working on photography is working on oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/working-on-photography-is-working-on-oneself/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I've tried a few times to depart from what I know I can do, and I've failed. I've tried to work outside the studio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-ve-tried-a-few-times-to-depart-from-what-i-know-i-can-do-and-i-ve/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/a-good-photograph-is-one-that-communicates-a-fact-touches-the-heart/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [In portrait photography there is something more profound that we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/in-portrait-photography-there-is-something-more-profound-that-we-seek/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [I can get obsessed by anything if i look at it long enough. That's the curse of being a photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/i-can-get-obsessed-by-anything-if-i-look-at-it-long-enough-that-s-the/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [What I really try to do is photograph people at rest, in a state of serenity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/what-i-really-try-to-do-is-photograph-people-at-rest-in-a-state-of/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) > [Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/sensitive-people-faced-with-the-prospect-of-a-camera-portrait-put-on/) [Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) [Explore all 24 Irving Penn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/) ## More Anticipation quotes > [There is something to be said though when you have 4 or 5 guys playing with no net, there is a sense of urgency,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-mendoza/there-is-something-to-be-said-though-when-you-have-4-or-5-guys/) [Marco Mendoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-mendoza/) > [Long intros are cool because there's a little bit of anticipation, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-lambert/long-intros-are-cool-because-there-s-a-little-bit-of-anticipation-you/) [Miranda Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-lambert/) > [Playing shortstop is 75 to 80 percent anticipation, knowing the hitter and the pitch being thrown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-boudreau/playing-shortstop-is-75-to-80-percent-anticipation-knowing-the-hitter/) [Lou Boudreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-boudreau/) > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“O I'm so afraid that it's true about to travel hopefully being better than to arrive. It might be all in the quest, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/o-i-m-so-afraid-that-it-s-true-about-to-travel-hopefully-being-better/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Science is not a system of certain, or -established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-not-a-system-of-certain-or-established-statements-nor-is/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [\[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelig-pliskin/it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and-what-isn-t-and-therefore/) [Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelig-pliskin/) > [The so called unconscious inferences can be traced back to the all-preserving memory, which presents us with parallel experiences and hence already knows the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-so-called-unconscious-inferences-can-be-traced-back-to-the-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [ The only thing is that ordinarily when I do dance with \[women\] they think I am suddenly going to throw them over a table… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kelly/the-only-thing-is-that-ordinarily-when-i-do-dance-with-women-they/) [Gene Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kelly/) > [Many live in dread of what is coming. Why should we? The unknown puts adventure into life. ... The unexpected around the corner gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/many-live-in-dread-of-what-is-coming-why-should-we-the-unknown-puts/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [The pilot who is always dreading a rock or a tempest must not complain if he remain a poor fisherman. We must at times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/the-pilot-who-is-always-dreading-a-rock-or-a-tempest-must-not/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [I am honoured to be asked to take on this role, especially as it comes at such an integral time for our relationship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-boateng/i-am-honoured-to-be-asked-to-take-on-this-role-especially-as-it-comes/) Paul Boateng > [“I can handle Evil, but I cannot handle Anticipation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabbo-de-la-parra/i-can-handle-evil-but-i-cannot-handle-anticipation/) [Gabbo De La Parra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabbo-de-la-parra/) > [Hope is itself a species of happiness...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/hope-is-itself-a-species-of-happiness/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) Browse all 758 Anticipation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each sheet in anticipation of reaching the perfect print.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Irving Penn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousands-of-hours-silently-brushing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anticipation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousands-of-hours-silently-brushing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/irving-penn-24767_anticipation_over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousan_1827687.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/irving-penn-24767_anticipation_over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousan_1827687.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/irving-penn-24767_anticipation_over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousan_1827687.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Over the years I must have spent thousands of hours silently brushing on the liquid coatings, preparing each…” — Irving Penn", "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": "Irving Penn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Over the years I must have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousands-of-hours-silently-brushing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/over-the-years-i-must-have-spent-thousands-of-hours-silently-brushing/#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 } } ] } ```