--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The process is only a means to an…" description: "\"The process is only a means to an end-creating the painting I want. It doesn't mean anything itself. It's only a way of creating a result.\" — Jackson P..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/jackson-pollock-8264_creating_the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-cr_1007399.jpg" --- # The process is only a means to an end-creating the… ![“The process is only a means to an end-creating the painting I want. It doesn't mean anything itself. It's only a way of creating a result.” quote by Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/jackson-pollock-8264_creating_the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-cr_1007399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/jackson-pollock-8264_creating_the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-cr_1007399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/jackson-pollock-8264_creating_the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-cr_1007399.jpg) > “The process is only a means to an end-creating the painting I want. It doesn't mean anything itself. It's only a way of creating a result.” [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The creative process is a tool to produce a desired artwork; the process itself lacks inherent meaning. **In simple terms:** Process is a means, not the end. Key Takeaway Focus on the final artistic vision. Themes art process creativity Mood contemplative artistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - artistic practice - creative workshops - design development Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy means‑to‑end Questions to Reflect On - How does your process shape your work? - When is process more important than product? A Different Perspective Process can be therapeutic; may distract from outcome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [When you sit back and think, you end up creating more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-mohan/when-you-sit-back-and-think-you-end-up-creating-more/) [Shakti Mohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-mohan/) > [Spiritual process means approaching your well-being in a scientific manner as a technology for well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/spiritual-process-means-approaching-your-well-being-in-a-scientific/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [Managing the creative process means selecting the best people and then letting them do their work. That means nurturing. It also means, from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/managing-the-creative-process-means-selecting-the-best-people-and/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [I'm purposeless. I'm making art because I want you to look at that painting and I want it to affect you in some way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/i-m-purposeless-i-m-making-art-because-i-want-you-to-look-at-that/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [“It is the last painting that I want to do, but I want to surpass myself in it. I am putting into it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/it-is-the-last-painting-that-i-want-to-do-but-i-want-to-surpass/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [Every human being sees something different in a painting, so I want every single person to have their own thoughts about our songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shavo-odadjian/every-human-being-sees-something-different-in-a-painting-so-i-want/) [Shavo Odadjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shavo-odadjian/) > [A lot of young painters love to incorporate celebrity. One idea of being a painter is to use what's happening at the time. Velázquez…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/a-lot-of-young-painters-love-to-incorporate-celebrity-one-idea-of/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [Make a small painting of what you want to do... and project it up on a white wall... The enlarged version is so changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rowe/make-a-small-painting-of-what-you-want-to-do-and-project-it-up-on-a/) [Jim Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rowe/) > [In a painting I want to say something comforting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/in-a-painting-i-want-to-say-something-comforting/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [What is the use of good painting? We want a spell cast upon the optical part of our existence! We seldom really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-the-use-of-good-painting-we-want-a-spell-cast-upon-the/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [My advice to any budding artist is never to be satisfied with imitating others. This is but a means to an end. A serious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/my-advice-to-any-budding-artist-is-never-to-be-satisfied-with/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [Goals are a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose of our lives. They are simply a tool to concentrate our focus and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/goals-are-a-means-to-an-end-not-the-ultimate-purpose-of-our-lives/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [The object of science is knowledge; the objects of art are works. In art, truth is the means to an end; in science, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-whewell/the-object-of-science-is-knowledge-the-objects-of-art-are-works-in/) [William Whewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-whewell/) > [Humor, for me, is really a gate of departure. Its a way of enticing a reader into a poem so that less funny things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/humor-for-me-is-really-a-gate-of-departure-its-a-way-of-enticing-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More by Jackson Pollock > [If people would just look at the paintings, I don't think they would have any trouble enjoying them. It's like looking at a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/if-people-would-just-look-at-the-paintings-i-don-t-think-they-would/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [The modern artist... is working and expressing an inner world - in other words - expressing the energy, the motion, and other inner forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-working-and-expressing-an-inner-world-in-other/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [He drove his kind of realism at me so hard I bounced right into nonobjective painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/he-drove-his-kind-of-realism-at-me-so-hard-i-bounced-right-into/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [When I'm painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It's only after a get acquainted period that I see what I've been about.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/when-i-m-painting-i-m-not-aware-of-what-i-m-doing-it-s-only-after-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-have-no-fear-of-making-changes-destroying-the-image-etc-because-the/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [I can control the flow of paint: there is no accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-can-control-the-flow-of-paint-there-is-no-accident/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [The modern artist is living in a mechanical age and we have a mechanical means of representing objects in nature such as the camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-living-in-a-mechanical-age-and-we-have-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [As to what I would like to be, it is difficult to say. An artist of some kind. If nothing else I shall always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/as-to-what-i-would-like-to-be-it-is-difficult-to-say-an-artist-of/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/it-is-only-when-i-lose-contact-with-the-painting-that-the-result-is-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [The strangeness will wear off and I think we will discover the deeper meanings in modern art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-strangeness-will-wear-off-and-i-think-we-will-discover-the-deeper/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Every good painter paints what he is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/every-good-painter-paints-what-he-is/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Modern art to me is nothing more than the expression of contemporary aims of the age that we're living in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/modern-art-to-me-is-nothing-more-than-the-expression-of-contemporary/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [I don't paint nature. I am nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-don-t-paint-nature-i-am-nature/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [With experience it seems to be possible to control the flow of paint, to a great extent, and I don't use - I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/with-experience-it-seems-to-be-possible-to-control-the-flow-of-paint/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/when-i-am-in-my-painting-i-m-not-aware-of-what-i-m-doing/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) [Explore all 82 Jackson Pollock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) ## 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": "The process is only a means to an end-creating the painting I want. It doesn't mean anything itself. It's only a way of creating a result.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jackson Pollock" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-creating-the-painting-i-want-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-creating-the-painting-i-want-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/jackson-pollock-8264_creating_the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-cr_1007399.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/jackson-pollock-8264_creating_the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-cr_1007399.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/jackson-pollock-8264_creating_the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-cr_1007399.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The process is only a means to an end-creating the painting I want. It doesn't mean anything itself. It's…” — Jackson Pollock", "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": "Jackson Pollock", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The process is only a means...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-creating-the-painting-i-want-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-creating-the-painting-i-want-it/#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 } } ] } ```