--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why spend the afternoon making a meal…" description: "\"Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour,\" she'd ask us, \"when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/jeannette-walls-1378_afternoon_why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-th_185895.png" --- # Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in… ![“Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour," she'd ask us, "when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever?” quote by Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/jeannette-walls-1378_afternoon_why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-th_185895.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/jeannette-walls-1378_afternoon_why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-th_185895.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/jeannette-walls-1378_afternoon_why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-th_185895.png) > “Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour," she'd ask us, "when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever?” [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating enduring art can be more fulfilling than temporary pleasures like a meal. **In simple terms:** Art lasts longer than a meal. Key Takeaway Invest time in lasting creations. Themes art time value legacy choice Mood contemplative motivational Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - painting sessions - creative retreats - skill development - personal projects Key Concepts impermanence priorities meaning Questions to Reflect On - What gives your work lasting value? - How do you balance immediate needs with long‑term goals? A Different Perspective Food also nourishment and social connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/cooking-a-meal-that-would-be-consumed-in-fifteen-minutes-had-no/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“He saw the white paper as the great universe of nonexistence. A single stroke would give rise to existence within it. He could evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/he-saw-the-white-paper-as-the-great-universe-of-nonexistence-a-single/) [Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/) > [To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/to-realise-the-value-of-one-hour-ask-the-lovers-who-are-waiting-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I am not menopausal. I just wanted half an hour alone. Is that too much to ask? A crappy half hour!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-am-not-menopausal-i-just-wanted-half-an-hour-alone-is-that-too-much/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I am the thing that I am painting at the time of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-lockwood/i-am-the-thing-that-i-am-painting-at-the-time-of-painting/) [Douglas Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-lockwood/) > [Rembrandt was way ahead of his time. It's as if he was painting an amateur theatrical, or a professional theatrical, in his studio. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/rembrandt-was-way-ahead-of-his-time-it-s-as-if-he-was-painting-an/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I'm so busy writing and editing two books a year that I don't have time for painting anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-m-so-busy-writing-and-editing-two-books-a-year-that-i-don-t-have/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [One of the things I like about our contract is that you have relieved me of a great deal of personal interviewing and corresponding,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-hughes/one-of-the-things-i-like-about-our-contract-is-that-you-have-relieved/) [E. J. Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-hughes/) > [My work is a fusion of personal experiences and influences - moody atmospheres, victorian-inspired couture, and timeless elements all laced with clandestine symbolism. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-earley/my-work-is-a-fusion-of-personal-experiences-and-influences-moody/) Lori Earley > [I haven't many years left ahead of me and I must devote all my time to painting, in the hope of achieving something worthwhile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-haven-t-many-years-left-ahead-of-me-and-i-must-devote-all-my-time/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [You see, should I stand in front of a landscape and paint it, I'm completely ignoring the factor of time. While I am painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-see-should-i-stand-in-front-of-a-landscape-and-paint-it-i-m/) [William S. 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I can't share it with anyone until it's done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-danby/i-must-have-the-personal-dialogue-the-private-time-with-each-painting/) [Ken Danby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-danby/) > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) ## More by Jeannette Walls > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“You should never hate anyone, not even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You had to find the redeeming quality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-not-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [With a complicated childhood, you can either focus on the positive or the negative, and I chose to focus on the positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/with-a-complicated-childhood-you-can-either-focus-on-the-positive-or/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [She never felt sorry for herself, and that was something I decided I admired most in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/she-never-felt-sorry-for-herself-and-that-was-something-i-decided-i/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“If you want to live in the farmland, haul your sorry hide off to Pennsylvania.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/if-you-want-to-live-in-the-farmland-haul-your-sorry-hide-off-to/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“I WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-was-sitting-in-a-taxi-wondering-if-i-had-overdressed-for-the/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I had the big shoulders; I had the big hair. I loved the '80s. It was all about power women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-had-the-big-shoulders-i-had-the-big-hair-i-loved-the-80s-it-was-all/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [Things usually work out in the end." "What if they don't?" "That just means you haven't come to the end yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/things-usually-work-out-in-the-end-what-if-they-don-t-that-just-means/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“That was the way man was meant to live, he’d say, in harmony with the wild, like the Indians, not this lords-of-the-earth crap, trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/that-was-the-way-man-was-meant-to-live-he-d-say-in-harmony-with-the/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/sometimes-you-need-a-little-crisis-to-get-your-adrenaline-flowing-and/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Don’t be afraid of your dark places,” Mom told her. “If you can shine a light on them, you’ll find treasure there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/don-t-be-afraid-of-your-dark-places-mom-told-her-if-you-can-shine-a/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I hate Erma," I told Mom... "You have to show compassion for her..." She added that you should never hate anyone, even your worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-hate-erma-i-told-mom-you-have-to-show-compassion-for-her-she-added/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Sad state to spend your life in. Being afraid of your own self." Rex Walls”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/sad-state-to-spend-your-life-in-being-afraid-of-your-own-self-rex/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I was so worried that people wouldn't like me or my story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/i-was-so-worried-that-people-wouldn-t-like-me-or-my-story/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“the surest way to feel rich was to invest in quality nonessentials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/the-surest-way-to-feel-rich-was-to-invest-in-quality-nonessentials/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) [Explore all 247 Jeannette Walls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) Ban Johnson > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour,\" she'd ask us, \"when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeannette Walls" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-that-will-be-gone-in-an-hour/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-that-will-be-gone-in-an-hour/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/jeannette-walls-1378_afternoon_why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-th_185895.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/jeannette-walls-1378_afternoon_why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-th_185895.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/jeannette-walls-1378_afternoon_why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-th_185895.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour,\" she'd ask us, \"when in the same amount…” — Jeannette Walls", "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": "Jeannette Walls", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why spend the afternoon making a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-that-will-be-gone-in-an-hour/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/why-spend-the-afternoon-making-a-meal-that-will-be-gone-in-an-hour/#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 } } ] } ```