--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am just trying to find a way to make…" description: "\"I am just trying to find a way to make pictures.\" — Jasper Johns" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/jasper-johns-8447_trying_i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-p_1478767.jpg" --- # I am just trying to find a way to make pictures. ![“I am just trying to find a way to make pictures.” quote by Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/jasper-johns-8447_trying_i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-p_1478767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/jasper-johns-8447_trying_i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-p_1478767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/jasper-johns-8447_trying_i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-p_1478767.jpg) > “I am just trying to find a way to make pictures.” [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artistic process begins with seeking a method to translate vision into visual form. **In simple terms:** Artists seek ways to create. Key Takeaway Experiment to discover personal technique. Themes art process exploration Mood curious determined Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - sculpture - design workshops Key Concepts visual arts creativity methodology Questions to Reflect On - What blocks your creative flow? - How do you test new techniques? A Different Perspective Finding a method can be frustrating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Just Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-trying/) [Make Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-pictures/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-way-244370/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [It's not that I'm rebelling. It's that I'm just trying to find another way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-sedgwick/it-s-not-that-i-m-rebelling-it-s-that-i-m-just-trying-to-find-another/) [Edie Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-sedgwick/) > [If I continue to just get to the playoffs every year, I guess you could say I arrived, but right now I'm just trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/if-i-continue-to-just-get-to-the-playoffs-every-year-i-guess-you/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [It is the spectators who make the pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/it-is-the-spectators-who-make-the-pictures/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I try to make pictures I would want to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/i-try-to-make-pictures-i-would-want-to-see/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [I like to make pictures about people who make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bruckheimer/i-like-to-make-pictures-about-people-who-make-a-difference/) [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bruckheimer/) > [I will only make pictures that I won't be ashamed to have my children see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-b-mayer/i-will-only-make-pictures-that-i-won-t-be-ashamed-to-have-my-children/) [Louis B. Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-b-mayer/) > [The thing that makes me want to make pictures now is just looking without many prejudices. The stuff right under your eyes is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abelardo-morell/the-thing-that-makes-me-want-to-make-pictures-now-is-just-looking/) [Abelardo Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abelardo-morell/) > [I'm just a girl trying to find a way in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-just-a-girl-trying-to-find-a-way-in-this-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm trying to find a way to eat up time without being destructive, 'cause that's my go-to, it seems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/i-m-trying-to-find-a-way-to-eat-up-time-without-being-destructive/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) > [You got up, and you did something. And if trying to find a way when you don't even know you can get there isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/you-got-up-and-you-did-something-and-if-trying-to-find-a-way-when-you/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“It is not the degree of 'willing' or 'trying', but the way in which the energy is directed, that is going to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-the-degree-of-willing-or-trying-but-the-way-in-which-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If ever you feel like you’re on a treadmill and not progressing; if you feel like you just can’t get ahead; it may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-thornton/if-ever-you-feel-like-you-re-on-a-treadmill-and-not-progressing-if/) [Gene Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-thornton/) > [Our real disabilities come from inside us, don't tell yourself you can't do something, keep on trying and if one way doesn't work try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/our-real-disabilities-come-from-inside-us-don-t-tell-yourself-you-can/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [I think we're out on a limb right now, hanging over a cliff, and we're trying to find a way to get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-manuel/i-think-we-re-out-on-a-limb-right-now-hanging-over-a-cliff-and-we-re/) [Charlie Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-manuel/) > [Tree Hill is a place, and if you look close enough.. you may see someone, someone like you just trying to find their way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-scott/tree-hill-is-a-place-and-if-you-look-close-enough-you-may-see-someone/) [Lucas Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-scott/) ## More by Jasper Johns > [Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/early-on-i-was-very-involved-with-the-notion-of-the-painting-as-an/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Make something, a kind of object, which as it changes or falls apart (dies as it were) or increases in its parts (grows as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/make-something-a-kind-of-object-which-as-it-changes-or-falls-apart/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [In my early work, I tried to hide my personality, my psychological state, my emotions. This was partly due to my feelings about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/in-my-early-work-i-tried-to-hide-my-personality-my-psychological/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-no-ideas-about-what-the-paintings-imply-about-the-world-i-don/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have meant what I have done. Or I have often meant what I have done. Or I have sometimes meant what I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-meant-what-i-have-done-or-i-have-often-meant-what-i-have-done/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art as a fantasy has been one of my earliest experiences. I suppose a lot of my childhood was a fantasy that involved getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-as-a-fantasy-has-been-one-of-my-earliest-experiences-i-suppose-a/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I was raised in South Carolina; I wasn't aware of any art in South Carolina. There was a minor museum in Charleston, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-was-raised-in-south-carolina-i-wasn-t-aware-of-any-art-in-south/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Sometime during the mid-50s I said, 'I am an artist.' Before that, for many years, I had said, 'I'm going to be an artist.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/sometime-during-the-mid-50s-i-said-i-am-an-artist-before-that-for/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [That's what painting does; it organizes vision in a certain way or suggests that certain things be paid attention to and certain other things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/that-s-what-painting-does-it-organizes-vision-in-a-certain-way-or/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I assumed that everything would lead to complete failure, but I decided that didn't matter – that would be my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-assumed-that-everything-would-lead-to-complete-failure-but-i/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I tend to like things that already exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-tend-to-like-things-that-already-exist/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Bend color names which should be made of neon or copper tubing. Place an object on a surface - trace the object - then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/bend-color-names-which-should-be-made-of-neon-or-copper-tubing-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [My experience with life is that it's very fragmented. In one place certain kinds of thing occur, and in another place a different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/my-experience-with-life-is-that-it-s-very-fragmented-in-one-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I never wish for critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-never-wish-for-critics/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art is either a complaint or appeasement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-is-either-a-complaint-or-appeasement/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) [Explore all 80 Jasper Johns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## More Photography quotes > [If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. That is up to you, but in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-list/if-you-want-to-edit-your-photos-and-make-yourself-look-different-go/) [Peyton List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-list/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [As far as Vern and I go, we have had situations where people have tried to take photographs of me and cut Vernon out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/as-far-as-vern-and-i-go-we-have-had-situations-where-people-have/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I always believed that photography was subjective, interpretive and certainly did not represent the truth, but I did think that its status as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ritchin/i-always-believed-that-photography-was-subjective-interpretive-and/) [Fred Ritchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ritchin/) > [One of the reasons that I do a lot of different kinds of pictures is because I learn a lot when I'm doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-jason-leigh/one-of-the-reasons-that-i-do-a-lot-of-different-kinds-of-pictures-is/) [Jennifer Jason Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-jason-leigh/) > [“She realized that the photograph had caused his reaction. It came to her almost as a revelation. Think of it: a photographer presses a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/she-realized-that-the-photograph-had-caused-his-reaction-it-came-to/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [“Now there was photographic evidence of me with a girl. Lindsey pack the camera in her duffel while I contemplated the film inside it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/now-there-was-photographic-evidence-of-me-with-a-girl-lindsey-pack/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [All the pictures on the walls, they all white as lilies and smiling like alligators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/all-the-pictures-on-the-walls-they-all-white-as-lilies-and-smiling/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) [Browse all 11,116 Photography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am just trying to find a way to make pictures.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jasper Johns" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-pictures/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Photography" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-pictures/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/jasper-johns-8447_trying_i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-p_1478767.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/jasper-johns-8447_trying_i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-p_1478767.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/jasper-johns-8447_trying_i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-p_1478767.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am just trying to find a way to make pictures.” — Jasper Johns", "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": "Jasper Johns", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am just trying to find...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-pictures/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-pictures/#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 } } ] } ```