--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today painters do not have to go to a…" description: "\"Today painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves. Most modern painters work from a different source. They work from within.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/jackson-pollock-8264_art_today-painters-do-not-have-to-go-to-a-su_1993321.jpg" --- # Today painters do not have to go to a subject matter… ![“Today painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves. Most modern painters work from a different source. They work from within.” quote by Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/jackson-pollock-8264_art_today-painters-do-not-have-to-go-to-a-su_1993321.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/jackson-pollock-8264_art_today-painters-do-not-have-to-go-to-a-su_1993321.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cb/jackson-pollock-8264_art_today-painters-do-not-have-to-go-to-a-su_1993321.jpg) > “Today painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves. Most modern painters work from a different source. They work from within.” [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. Modern painters create art from internal sources rather than external subjects. **In simple terms:** Art can be introspective. Key Takeaway Explore inner creativity in artistic practice. Themes art creativity introspection modernism Mood inspirational thoughtful Type artistic educational When to use this quote - studio practice - personal projects - creative workshops Key Concepts psychology of art expressionism Questions to Reflect On - How does internal inspiration differ from external? - What techniques foster inner artistic expression? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painters/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [Modern art to me is nothing more than the expression of contemporary aims of the age we’re living in All cultures have had means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/modern-art-to-me-is-nothing-more-than-the-expression-of-contemporary-2/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [All cultures have had means and techniques of expressing their immediate aims - the Chinese, the Renaissance, all cultures. The thing that interests me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/all-cultures-have-had-means-and-techniques-of-expressing-their/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Most modern painters work from a different source. They work from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/most-modern-painters-work-from-a-different-source-they-work-from/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [“They’re all daubers, today’s painters; they’ve completely lost touch with the classical tradition, the subtle, noble craft of the old masters. They muddle along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-hertmans/they-re-all-daubers-today-s-painters-they-ve-completely-lost-touch/) Stefan Hertmans > [The house was as empty as a beer closet in premises where painters have been at work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-house-was-as-empty-as-a-beer-closet-in-premises-where-painters/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Painters work from the ground up. The latest version of a painting overlays earlier versions, and obliterates them. Writers, on the other hand, work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/painters-work-from-the-ground-up-the-latest-version-of-a-painting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For a hundred years, modern painters, stubbornly and in the face of incessant hostility, have moved, step by step, leaving superb monuments by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/for-a-hundred-years-modern-painters-stubbornly-and-in-the-face-of/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [When an artist begins to count strokes instead of regarding nature he is lost. This preoccupation with technique, at the expense of truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-sorolla/when-an-artist-begins-to-count-strokes-instead-of-regarding-nature-he/) [Joaquin Sorolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-sorolla/) > [Too many modern painters set themselves satisfied with just a coincidence, the spot in its raw, meaningless form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-alechinsky/too-many-modern-painters-set-themselves-satisfied-with-just-a/) [Pierre Alechinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-alechinsky/) > [If modern painters feel qualms about applying the term "masterpiece" to describe a work of capital importance, this is because it has come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/if-modern-painters-feel-qualms-about-applying-the-term-masterpiece-to/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Out in the sun, some painters are lined up. The first is copying nature, the second is copying the first, the third is copying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/out-in-the-sun-some-painters-are-lined-up-the-first-is-copying-nature/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [It is better to be nothing than a follower of other painters. The wise man has said when one follows another one is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-camille-corot/it-is-better-to-be-nothing-than-a-follower-of-other-painters-the-wise/) [Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-camille-corot/) > [Painters are noted for being dissipated and wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/painters-are-noted-for-being-dissipated-and-wild/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I like to move among painters, mathematicians, psychologists, people who can tell me something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-woodcock/i-like-to-move-among-painters-mathematicians-psychologists-people-who/) [George Woodcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-woodcock/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) ## 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 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 > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 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": "Today painters do not have to go to a subject matter outside of themselves. 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