--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I see it and then paint it…" description: "\"Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer neither.\" — Jasper Johns" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/jasper-johns-8447_artist_sometimes-i-see-it-and-then-paint-it-oth_2961195.jpg" --- # Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint… ![“Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer neither.” quote by Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/jasper-johns-8447_artist_sometimes-i-see-it-and-then-paint-it-oth_2961195.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/jasper-johns-8447_artist_sometimes-i-see-it-and-then-paint-it-oth_2961195.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/jasper-johns-8447_artist_sometimes-i-see-it-and-then-paint-it-oth_2961195.jpg) > “Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer neither.” [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 artist grapples with the tension between perception and representation, finding neither pure nor impure. **In simple terms:** Seeing and painting are intertwined, both flawed. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity in creative process. Themes art perception creativity ambiguity Mood reflective introspective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - visual art - creative decision making Key Concepts phenomenology visual theory Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception change when you create? - Can impure processes lead to authentic work? A Different Perspective Some artists seek a pure vision, but purity may be illusionary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Impure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impure/) [Situations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situations/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/sometimes-i-see-it-and-then-paint-it-other-times-i-paint-it-and-then/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I see less and less... I need to avoid lateral light, which darkens my colors. Nevertheless, I always paint at the times of day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-see-less-and-less-i-need-to-avoid-lateral-light-which-darkens-my/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have to paint at least two times a week, and there's not enough time in the day to do everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lynn-rajskub/i-have-to-paint-at-least-two-times-a-week-and-there-s-not-enough-time/) [Mary Lynn Rajskub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lynn-rajskub/) > [Ignorance is the failure to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent, the pure and the impure, bliss and suffering, the Self and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/ignorance-is-the-failure-to-discriminate-between-the-permanent-and/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [“like a drop of ink in a glass of milk”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/like-a-drop-of-ink-in-a-glass-of-milk/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“Most priests wish they were as righteous as they seem to most members of their congregations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-priests-wish-they-were-as-righteous-as-they-seem-to-most-members/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [In the music industry, we value large success. I realized that while I would like that, that it's not what my writing is about.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-friedman/in-the-music-industry-we-value-large-success-i-realized-that-while-i/) [David Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-friedman/) > [The man of impure speech is a person whose lips are but an opening and a supply pipe which hell uses to vomit its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vianney/the-man-of-impure-speech-is-a-person-whose-lips-are-but-an-opening/) [John Vianney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vianney/) > [“Interfering in the worldly life is impure action (ashuddha vyavahar).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/interfering-in-the-worldly-life-is-impure-action-ashuddha-vyavahar/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [There is a new venue for theory, necessarily impure, where it emerges in and as the very event of cultural translation. 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If I do, when I go, when I arrive at my final destination, I'll be . . . impure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-peters/secrets-i-can-t-take-then-with-me-if-i-do-when-i-go-when-i-arrive-at/) [Julie Anne Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-peters/) > [If you will not determine to be pure, you will grow more and more impure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/if-you-will-not-determine-to-be-pure-you-will-grow-more-and-more/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [As to the pure all things are pure, even so to the impure all things are impure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-hare/as-to-the-pure-all-things-are-pure-even-so-to-the-impure-all-things/) [Augustus Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-hare/) ## 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 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": "Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. 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