--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I walked along the side with the…" description: "\"“I walked along the side with the spray-painted trees, some in white like a starched chemical snowfall, others painted gold, pink, red, even black. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/janet-fitch-717_painted_i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-p_1134952.png" --- # I walked along the side with the spray-painted trees, some… ![“I walked along the side with the spray-painted trees, some in white like a starched chemical snowfall, others painted gold, pink, red, even black. The black tree, about three feet high, looked like it had been burnt. I wondered who would want a black tree, but I knew someone would. There was no…” quote by Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/janet-fitch-717_painted_i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-p_1134952.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/janet-fitch-717_painted_i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-p_1134952.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/janet-fitch-717_painted_i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-p_1134952.png) > ““I walked along the side with the spray-painted trees, some in white like a starched chemical snowfall, others painted gold, pink, red, even black. The black tree, about three feet high, looked like it had been burnt. I wondered who would want a black tree, but I knew someone would. There was no limit to the ways in which people could be strange." ~ White Oleander”” [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage highlights how people express individuality through unconventional, sometimes extreme, artistic choices, reflecting the boundless creativity of human eccentricity. **In simple terms:** People show strange creativity in how they decorate things. Key Takeaway Embrace and explore unconventional expressions. Themes creativity individuality eccentricity art expression Mood curious reflective inspirational Type literary descriptive observational When to use this quote - urban art tours - interior design - personal branding - community festivals Key Concepts psychology social norms identity Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to create unconventional art? - How does society judge strange expressions? A Different Perspective Some may view such oddities as vandalism rather than art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Painted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted/) [Painted Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted-trees-3137063/) [Snowfall Painted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowfall-painted-3137064/) [Tree Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-knew-765833/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-white-438138/) [White Oleander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-oleander-224178/) ## Related quotes > [“Everybody asks why I started at the end and worked back to the beginning, the reason is simple, I couldn't understand the beginning until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/everybody-asks-why-i-started-at-the-end-and-worked-back-to-the/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I wanted to tell her not to entertain despair like this. Despaire wasn't a guest, you didn't play its favorite music, find it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-wanted-to-tell-her-not-to-entertain-despair-like-this-despaire-wasn/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [You took a walk on a Sunday afternoon and came to a nice neighborhood, very refined. You saw a small one of these trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/you-took-a-walk-on-a-sunday-afternoon-and-came-to-a-nice-neighborhood/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Her fingertips dug into his shoulders as she pressed closer. Then her lips parted to his, and there was no mistaking the passion in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-donovan/her-fingertips-dug-into-his-shoulders-as-she-pressed-closer-then-her/) [Sierra Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-donovan/) > [“It is only glass, you know. Nothing fine or grand.Your Mother knew it, when she accepted it with my hand.And she knew I danced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-dixon/it-is-only-glass-you-know-nothing-fine-or-grand-your-mother-knew-it/) [Heather Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-dixon/) > [“The one tree in Francie’s yard was neither a pine nor a hemlock. It had pointed leaves which grew along green switches which radiated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-one-tree-in-francie-s-yard-was-neither-a-pine-nor-a-hemlock-it/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Like children facing an empty Christmas tree, they knew the world wasn’t a very magical place at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-walker/like-children-facing-an-empty-christmas-tree-they-knew-the-world-wasn/) [Preston Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-walker/) > [“White-walled once. Red-roofed. But painted in weather-colors now. With brushes dipped in nature’s palette. Mossgreen. Earth-brown. Crumbleblack”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/white-walled-once-red-roofed-but-painted-in-weather-colors-now-with/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I have driven school buses, sold egg rolls and painted houses, and I have often wondered what my life would have been like if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-have-driven-school-buses-sold-egg-rolls-and-painted-houses-and-i/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [“painted in weather-colors now. With brushes dipped in nature’s palette. Mossgreen. Earth-brown. Crumbleblack”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/painted-in-weather-colors-now-with-brushes-dipped-in-nature-s-palette/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [A painted landscape is always more beautiful than a real one, because there's more there. Everything is more sensual, and one takes refuge in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-botero/a-painted-landscape-is-always-more-beautiful-than-a-real-one-because/) [Fernando Botero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-botero/) > [I wanted to wear the mantle and the pearls. I wanted to know the man who painted her like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-wanted-to-wear-the-mantle-and-the-pearls-i-wanted-to-know-the-man/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [Melbourne, where I grew up, is one of the street art capitals of the world. Something about discovering freshly painted walls always fills me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-mitchell/melbourne-where-i-grew-up-is-one-of-the-street-art-capitals-of-the/) [Penelope Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-mitchell/) > [It seems like if you are not painted up special way or have some tailor made outfit to put on to go out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-anselmo/it-seems-like-if-you-are-not-painted-up-special-way-or-have-some/) [Phil Anselmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-anselmo/) ## More by Janet Fitch > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“That fucking crow-bodied thing had won. How gleeful it was now. All because he'd wanted to live, forget genius and destiny, and simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/that-fucking-crow-bodied-thing-had-won-how-gleeful-it-was-now-all/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [No matter how unappealing, each of them imagines he is somehow worthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/no-matter-how-unappealing-each-of-them-imagines-he-is-somehow-worthy/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [The nearest I'd come to feeling anything like God was the plan blue cloudless sky and a certain silence, but how do you pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/the-nearest-i-d-come-to-feeling-anything-like-god-was-the-plan-blue/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [When most people looked at Josie Tyrell, they only saw a certain collection of bones, a selection of forms filling space. But Michael saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/when-most-people-looked-at-josie-tyrell-they-only-saw-a-certain/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“They can't touch us. We're the Vikings. We go into battle without armor for the flush and the blood of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/they-can-t-touch-us-we-re-the-vikings-we-go-into-battle-without-armor/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“But I knew one more thing. That people who denied who they were or where they had been were in the greatest danger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/but-i-knew-one-more-thing-that-people-who-denied-who-they-were-or/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“To dare to see is to steal fire from the Gods. This is mankind's destiny, the engine which fuels us as a race. Three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/to-dare-to-see-is-to-steal-fire-from-the-gods-this-is-mankind-s/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [This is what happens when you fall in love. You're looking at a natural disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/this-is-what-happens-when-you-fall-in-love-you-re-looking-at-a/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“If I were a poet, that’s what I’d write about. People who worked in the middle of the night. Men who loaded trains, emergency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/if-i-were-a-poet-that-s-what-i-d-write-about-people-who-worked-in-the/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“what was the point in creating something that was so futile and so precious? everything beautiful was like that. a little bit of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/what-was-the-point-in-creating-something-that-was-so-futile-and-so/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“We received our coloring from Norsemen. Hairy savages who hacked their gods to pieces and hung the flesh from trees. We are the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/we-received-our-coloring-from-norsemen-hairy-savages-who-hacked-their/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [¨Loneliness is the human condition. Cultivate it. The way it tunnels into you allows your soul room to grow. Never expect to outgrow loneliness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/loneliness-is-the-human-condition-cultivate-it-the-way-it-tunnels/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I was tired of men. Hanging in doorways, standing too close, men who made you love them then changed their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-was-tired-of-men-hanging-in-doorways-standing-too-close-men-who/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) [Explore all 388 Janet Fitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) ## More Painted quotes > [Melbourne, where I grew up, is one of the street art capitals of the world. Something about discovering freshly painted walls always fills me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-mitchell/melbourne-where-i-grew-up-is-one-of-the-street-art-capitals-of-the/) [Penelope Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-mitchell/) > [I wanted to wear the mantle and the pearls. I wanted to know the man who painted her like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-wanted-to-wear-the-mantle-and-the-pearls-i-wanted-to-know-the-man/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [A painted landscape is always more beautiful than a real one, because there's more there. Everything is more sensual, and one takes refuge in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-botero/a-painted-landscape-is-always-more-beautiful-than-a-real-one-because/) [Fernando Botero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-botero/) > [“painted in weather-colors now. With brushes dipped in nature’s palette. Mossgreen. Earth-brown. Crumbleblack”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/painted-in-weather-colors-now-with-brushes-dipped-in-nature-s-palette/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I have driven school buses, sold egg rolls and painted houses, and I have often wondered what my life would have been like if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-have-driven-school-buses-sold-egg-rolls-and-painted-houses-and-i/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [“White-walled once. Red-roofed. But painted in weather-colors now. With brushes dipped in nature’s palette. Mossgreen. Earth-brown. Crumbleblack”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/white-walled-once-red-roofed-but-painted-in-weather-colors-now-with/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [It seems like if you are not painted up special way or have some tailor made outfit to put on to go out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-anselmo/it-seems-like-if-you-are-not-painted-up-special-way-or-have-some/) [Phil Anselmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-anselmo/) > [I've had a lifelong love affair with makeup. When I was a little girl, I used to take my mother's makeup and paint all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobbi-brown/i-ve-had-a-lifelong-love-affair-with-makeup-when-i-was-a-little-girl/) [Bobbi Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobbi-brown/) > [Monet was like a conductor. He painted with quite a straight arm and used bold strokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/monet-was-like-a-conductor-he-painted-with-quite-a-straight-arm-and/) [Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/) > [Seeks painted trifles and fantastic toys, and eagerly pursues imaginary joys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/seeks-painted-trifles-and-fantastic-toys-and-eagerly-pursues/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [I taught elementary school and painted apartments for ten years. Now I write full-time and never have to change a thing I write. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/i-taught-elementary-school-and-painted-apartments-for-ten-years-now-i/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [“The front door is painted a rich, bright red. The corners of my mouth curl into a smile. Have I mentioned my love affair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-scott/the-front-door-is-painted-a-rich-bright-red-the-corners-of-my-mouth/) [Victoria Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-scott/) > [For those who know how to read, I have painted my autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/for-those-who-know-how-to-read-i-have-painted-my-autobiography/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I don't write for a particular audience. I work as an artist, and I think the audience of one, which is the self, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-write-for-a-particular-audience-i-work-as-an-artist-and-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I have painted enough to have a lot of respect for mediocre painters. It's really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-have-painted-enough-to-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-mediocre-painters/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) [Browse all 221 Painted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I walked along the side with the spray-painted trees, some in white like a starched chemical snowfall, others painted gold, pink, red, even black. The black tree, about three feet high, looked like it had been burnt. I wondered who would want a black tree, but I knew someone would. There was no limit to the ways in which people could be strange.\" ~ White Oleander”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Janet Fitch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-painted-trees-some-in-white/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Painted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-painted-trees-some-in-white/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/janet-fitch-717_painted_i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-p_1134952.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/janet-fitch-717_painted_i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-p_1134952.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/janet-fitch-717_painted_i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-p_1134952.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I walked along the side with the spray-painted trees, some in white like a starched chemical snowfall…” — Janet Fitch", "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": "Janet Fitch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I walked along the side with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-painted-trees-some-in-white/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-walked-along-the-side-with-the-spray-painted-trees-some-in-white/#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 } } ] } ```