--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I start a picture and I finish it." description: "\"I start a picture and I finish it.\" — Jean-Michel Basquiat" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_quote_i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-200959_2009598.jpg" --- # I start a picture and I finish it. ![“I start a picture and I finish it.” quote by Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_quote_i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-200959_2009598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_quote_i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-200959_2009598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_quote_i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-200959_2009598.jpg) > “I start a picture and I finish it.” [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) ## 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 is linear: start and finish a picture without interruption. **In simple terms:** Create from start to finish. Key Takeaway Focus on completing one piece at a time. Themes creativity process discipline focus artistic flow Mood determined reflective Type practical philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - project planning - creative bursts - time management - exhibition preparation Key Concepts Linear workflow completion mindset artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - Does a linear approach limit exploration? - How can you balance focus with experimentation? A Different Perspective Art may benefit from iterative refinement rather than single‑pass creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) ## Related quotes > [I start a picture and I finish it. I don't think about art while I work. I try to think about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-i-don-t-think-about-art-while-i/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Every single time I start to do a picture, without fail, I feel as if I don't know what I'm doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cruise/every-single-time-i-start-to-do-a-picture-without-fail-i-feel-as-if-i/) [Tom Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cruise/) > [When I start a picture, I always have a script, but I change it every day. I put in what occurs to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/when-i-start-a-picture-i-always-have-a-script-but-i-change-it-every/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [It's not where you start or where you finish. It is the distance between the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/it-s-not-where-you-start-or-where-you-finish-it-is-the-distance/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) > [I prefer working, period. I think that I like doing film more just because when you get a script, you have the story from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addison-timlin/i-prefer-working-period-i-think-that-i-like-doing-film-more-just/) [Addison Timlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addison-timlin/) > [I firmly believe if you start something, you should finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coy-bowles/i-firmly-believe-if-you-start-something-you-should-finish-it/) [Coy Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coy-bowles/) > [“Waiters and quitters have a little difference; quitters begin well but do not finish it; waiters do not begin it at all. Don’t be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/waiters-and-quitters-have-a-little-difference-quitters-begin-well-but/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I always wanted to, at some point, sit down and consider how to plot out one piece of work, one album, from start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-collier/i-always-wanted-to-at-some-point-sit-down-and-consider-how-to-plot/) [Jacob Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-collier/) > [When I stop working, I go out and start working again. Most people paint a picture, or whatever they do, and go home. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bailey/when-i-stop-working-i-go-out-and-start-working-again-most-people/) [David Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bailey/) > [I think a melody is a melody. And the way I usually start is I start writing my themes without even writing to picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramin-djawadi/i-think-a-melody-is-a-melody-and-the-way-i-usually-start-is-i-start/) [Ramin Djawadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramin-djawadi/) > [My pictures really finish themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/my-pictures-really-finish-themselves/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [If a picture is worth a thousand words, in business, so is a number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/if-a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-in-business-so-is-a-number/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) > [“...why don't you take a picture of yourself next to a fucking job application? How about that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-wolf/why-don-t-you-take-a-picture-of-yourself-next-to-a-fucking-job/) Josh Wolf > [I have never forgotten a picture that I ever made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bourke-white/i-have-never-forgotten-a-picture-that-i-ever-made/) [Margaret Bourke-White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bourke-white/) > [Because I'm a bald, dim-witted writer, people think I couldn't possibly be her husband, so they occasionally confuse me for someone more glamorous. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/because-i-m-a-bald-dim-witted-writer-people-think-i-couldn-t-possibly/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) ## More by Jean-Michel Basquiat > [Some days I can't get an idea, and I think, 'Man, I'm just washed up,' but it's just a mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/some-days-i-can-t-get-an-idea-and-i-think-man-i-m-just-washed-up-but/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really messy. I'd never win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-was-a-really-lousy-artist-as-a-kid-too-abstract-expressionist-or-i/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I am not a black artist, I am an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-am-not-a-black-artist-i-am-an-artist/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Medicine men live in caves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/medicine-men-live-in-caves/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Occasionally, when I get mad at a woman, I'll do some great, awful painting about her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/occasionally-when-i-get-mad-at-a-woman-i-ll-do-some-great-awful/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [“Most Young Kings Get Their Heads Cut Off”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/most-young-kings-get-their-heads-cut-off/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Charles Saatchi has never liked my work at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/charles-saatchi-has-never-liked-my-work-at-all/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [SAMO as an end to to mindwash religion, nowhere politics and bogus philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/samo-as-an-end-to-to-mindwash-religion-nowhere-politics-and-bogus/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I have done only two portraits: one of the artist Francesco Clemente and another of Andy Warhol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-have-done-only-two-portraits-one-of-the-artist-francesco-clemente/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I wanted to build up a name for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-wanted-to-build-up-a-name-for-myself/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I want to make paintings that look as if they were made by a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-want-to-make-paintings-that-look-as-if-they-were-made-by-a-child/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Since I was seventeen I thought I might be a star. I'd think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix... I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/since-i-was-seventeen-i-thought-i-might-be-a-star-i-d-think-about-all/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [If I'm away from painting for a week, I get bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/if-i-m-away-from-painting-for-a-week-i-get-bored/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I start a picture and I finish it. I don't think about art while I work. I try to think about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-i-don-t-think-about-art-while-i/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [If you wanna talk about influence, man, then you've got to realize that influence is not influence. It's simply someone's idea going through my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/if-you-wanna-talk-about-influence-man-then-you-ve-got-to-realize-that/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) [Explore all 43 Jean-Michel Basquiat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) ## More Finish quotes > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [Children should finish school and even go to college if they can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fuller/children-should-finish-school-and-even-go-to-college-if-they-can/) [Robert Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fuller/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It doesn't matter where you start but how you finish that matters!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-irick-rainford/it-doesn-t-matter-where-you-start-but-how-you-finish-that-matters/) Valerie Irick Rainford > [Whenever I finish a film, I feel that this is the worst film that I have made. This is bound to happen because while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajkumar-hirani/whenever-i-finish-a-film-i-feel-that-this-is-the-worst-film-that-i/) [Rajkumar Hirani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajkumar-hirani/) > [When I finish my career, I can look back and then decide if it was good or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-henderson/when-i-finish-my-career-i-can-look-back-and-then-decide-if-it-was/) [Jordan Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-henderson/) > [I've enjoyed my time at every club I have worked at, I've been lucky, but I won't jump in and finish up working with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-redknapp/i-ve-enjoyed-my-time-at-every-club-i-have-worked-at-i-ve-been-lucky/) [Harry Redknapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-redknapp/) > [“Do it well, finish it properly, and move on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eunice-kennedy-shriver/do-it-well-finish-it-properly-and-move-on/) [Eunice Kennedy Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eunice-kennedy-shriver/) > [Not everyone who started with you will finish with you. Be willing to go without them if you have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-gaskins/not-everyone-who-started-with-you-will-finish-with-you-be-willing-to/) [Tony Gaskins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-gaskins/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Call me old-fashioned, but it's always been my firm belief that a teacher's job should be for each of his or her students to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-crowder/call-me-old-fashioned-but-it-s-always-been-my-firm-belief-that-a/) [Steven Crowder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-crowder/) > [If it is possible I want to finish my career at Manchester United.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-ji-sung/if-it-is-possible-i-want-to-finish-my-career-at-manchester-united/) [Park Ji-sung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-ji-sung/) > [A lot of times, you finish a movie, and you're either going, 'Oh, thank God, that's over,' or 'Oh, my God, it's over, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyck-godfrey/a-lot-of-times-you-finish-a-movie-and-you-re-either-going-oh-thank/) [Wyck Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyck-godfrey/) > [I used to review games on 'The Totally Rad Show,' and the best thing about that was I would finish games. Now, it's become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-trachtenberg/i-used-to-review-games-on-the-totally-rad-show-and-the-best-thing/) [Dan Trachtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-trachtenberg/) > [“Winners run through the finish line. End your day with passion and enthusiasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-bellah/winners-run-through-the-finish-line-end-your-day-with-passion-and/) [Butch Bellah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-bellah/) Browse all 1,526 Finish quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I start a picture and I finish it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Michel Basquiat" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Finish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_quote_i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-200959_2009598.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_quote_i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-200959_2009598.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_quote_i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-200959_2009598.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I start a picture and I finish it.” — Jean-Michel Basquiat", "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": "Jean-Michel Basquiat", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I start a picture and I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-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 } } ] } ```