--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I stand before a canvas, I never…" description: "\"When I stand before a canvas, I never know what I'll do, and I am the first one surprised at what comes out.\" — Joan Miro" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/joan-miro-15041_artist_when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-kno_2621195.jpg" --- # When I stand before a canvas, I never know what I'll do… ![“When I stand before a canvas, I never know what I'll do, and I am the first one surprised at what comes out.” quote by Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/joan-miro-15041_artist_when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-kno_2621195.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/joan-miro-15041_artist_when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-kno_2621195.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/joan-miro-15041_artist_when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-kno_2621195.jpg) > “When I stand before a canvas, I never know what I'll do, and I am the first one surprised at what comes out.” [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative process is unpredictable; the artist is surprised by the work’s emergence. **In simple terms:** Art creates unexpected outcomes. Key Takeaway Embrace creative surprise. Themes creativity uncertainty artistic process Mood inspired curious Type artistic reflective When to use this quote - painting - design - improvisation Key Concepts modern art spontaneity Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to unexpected results? - What rituals help you stay open? A Different Perspective May cause anxiety over lack of control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) ## Related quotes > [“If you stand before a canvas, up close, almost to the point where your nose touches paint, you will see nothing but a blurred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pen/if-you-stand-before-a-canvas-up-close-almost-to-the-point-where-your/) [Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pen/) > [When I put my brush to canvas, I never know what I'm going to paint. It's like when you're walking down the street with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-max/when-i-put-my-brush-to-canvas-i-never-know-what-i-m-going-to-paint-it/) [Peter Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-max/) > [You can always draw as well as you know how to. I flatter myself that I feel more than I express on canvas; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris-hunt/you-can-always-draw-as-well-as-you-know-how-to-i-flatter-myself-that/) [William Morris Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris-hunt/) > [My way is to seize an image the moment it has formed in my mind, to trap it as a bird and to pin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/my-way-is-to-seize-an-image-the-moment-it-has-formed-in-my-mind-to/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [Throughout the time in which I am working on a canvas I can feel how I am beginning to love it, with that love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/throughout-the-time-in-which-i-am-working-on-a-canvas-i-can-feel-how/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [Never, never do I set to work on a canvas in the state it comes in from the shop. I provoke accidents - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/never-never-do-i-set-to-work-on-a-canvas-in-the-state-it-comes-in/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [Great paintings have gradations, large and small... They serve to lift the subject off the two-dimensionality of the canvas. Gradations are an essential abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/great-paintings-have-gradations-large-and-small-they-serve-to-lift/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [My training was that you fill in the canvas where it needs colour and polishing. You start with the words on the first night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-moody/my-training-was-that-you-fill-in-the-canvas-where-it-needs-colour-and/) [Ron Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-moody/) > [Theres a blank canvas in front of you. You are the artist of your life, and you are free to paint any picture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishu/theres-a-blank-canvas-in-front-of-you-you-are-the-artist-of-your-life/) [Nishu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishu/) > [Life's a canvas you're an artist, Paint a picture of a garden then go and marvel at the harvest you created from your conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-a-canvas-you-re-an-artist-paint-a-picture-of-a-garden-then-go/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The future turns out to be something that you make instead of find. It isn't waiting for your arrival, either with an arrest warrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-future-turns-out-to-be-something-that-you-make-instead-of-find-it/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [What I did for my last act as a painter, if you call me a painter, was to photograph the weave of the canvas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-denes/what-i-did-for-my-last-act-as-a-painter-if-you-call-me-a-painter-was/) [Agnes Denes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-denes/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-painter-should-begin-every-canvas-with-a-wash-of-black-because-all/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/the-bigger-the-canvas-the-better-i-do-i-m-not-so-good-at-understated/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) ## More by Joan Miro > [The picture should be fecund. It must bring a world to birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/the-picture-should-be-fecund-it-must-bring-a-world-to-birth/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [As regards my means of expression, I try my hardest to achieve the maximum of clarity, power, and plastic aggressiveness; a physical sensation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/as-regards-my-means-of-expression-i-try-my-hardest-to-achieve-the/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [I think of my studio as a vegetable garden, where things follow their natural course. They grow, they ripen. You have to graft. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/i-think-of-my-studio-as-a-vegetable-garden-where-things-follow-their/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [To gain freedom is to gain simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/to-gain-freedom-is-to-gain-simplicity/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [The simplest things give me ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/the-simplest-things-give-me-ideas/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/the-works-must-be-conceived-with-fire-in-the-soul-but-executed-with/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [What I will no longer accept is the mediocre life of a modest little gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/what-i-will-no-longer-accept-is-the-mediocre-life-of-a-modest-little/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [Never, never do I set to work on a canvas in the state it comes in from the shop. I provoke accidents - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/never-never-do-i-set-to-work-on-a-canvas-in-the-state-it-comes-in/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [If you have any notion of where you are going, you will never get anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/if-you-have-any-notion-of-where-you-are-going-you-will-never-get/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [A modeled form is less striking than one which is not. Modeling prevents shock and limits movement to the visual depth. Without modeling or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/a-modeled-form-is-less-striking-than-one-which-is-not-modeling/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [Poetry and painting are done in the same way you make love; it's an exchange of blood, a total embrace - without caution, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/poetry-and-painting-are-done-in-the-same-way-you-make-love-it-s-an/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [For me an object is something living. This cigarette or this box of matches contains a secret life much more intense than that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/for-me-an-object-is-something-living-this-cigarette-or-this-box-of/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [Throughout the time in which I am working on a canvas I can feel how I am beginning to love it, with that love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/throughout-the-time-in-which-i-am-working-on-a-canvas-i-can-feel-how/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [My way is to seize an image the moment it has formed in my mind, to trap it as a bird and to pin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/my-way-is-to-seize-an-image-the-moment-it-has-formed-in-my-mind-to/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) > [I begin my pictures under the effect of a shock which I feel and which makes me escape from reality... I need a point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/i-begin-my-pictures-under-the-effect-of-a-shock-which-i-feel-and/) [Joan Miro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) [Explore all 44 Joan Miro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/) ## 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": "When I stand before a canvas, I never know what I'll do, and I am the first one surprised at what comes out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Miro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-know-what-i-ll-do-and-i-am-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-know-what-i-ll-do-and-i-am-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/joan-miro-15041_artist_when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-kno_2621195.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/joan-miro-15041_artist_when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-kno_2621195.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/joan-miro-15041_artist_when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-kno_2621195.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I stand before a canvas, I never know what I'll do, and I am the first one surprised at what comes out.” — Joan Miro", "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": "Joan Miro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-miro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I stand before a canvas,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-know-what-i-ll-do-and-i-am-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-miro/when-i-stand-before-a-canvas-i-never-know-what-i-ll-do-and-i-am-the/#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 } } ] } ```