--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My paintings are titled after they are…" description: "\"My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me - and remembered feelings of them, which of co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/joan-mitchell-60922_artist_my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-f_388525.jpg" --- # My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint… ![“My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me - and remembered feelings of them, which of course become transformed. I could certainly never mirror nature. I would more like to paint what it leaves with me.” quote by Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/joan-mitchell-60922_artist_my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-f_388525.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/joan-mitchell-60922_artist_my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-f_388525.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/joan-mitchell-60922_artist_my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-f_388525.jpg) > “My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me - and remembered feelings of them, which of course become transformed. I could certainly never mirror nature. I would more like to paint what it leaves with me.” [Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art becomes a personal memory, transforming remembered landscapes and emotions into unique paintings rather than literal replicas. **In simple terms:** Paint from memory, not direct observation. Key Takeaway Create art that reflects inner experience. Themes artistic process memory transformation Mood reflective creative Type visual inspirational When to use this quote - painting - creative workshops - personal reflection Key Concepts subjectivity emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How does memory shape your creative work? - What emotions do you want your art to evoke? A Different Perspective Memory can be unreliable, affecting accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) ## Related quotes > [I like to paint paintings that I haven't seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mati-klarwein/i-like-to-paint-paintings-that-i-haven-t-seen/) [Mati Klarwein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mati-klarwein/) > [“through the miracle of consciousness, the human psyche provides the mirror in which Nature sees herself reflected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stevens/through-the-miracle-of-consciousness-the-human-psyche-provides-the/) [Anthony Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stevens/) > [With this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature. for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/with-this-special-observance-that-you-o-erstep-not-the-modesty-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I am an actor and this is holding the mirror up to nature, as it were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-dean-stanton/i-am-an-actor-and-this-is-holding-the-mirror-up-to-nature-as-it-were/) [Harry Dean Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-dean-stanton/) > [My job has always been to hold a mirror up to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/my-job-has-always-been-to-hold-a-mirror-up-to-nature/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [Sensitive, responsive, eagerly welcomed everywhere, the drama, holding the mirror up to nature, by laughter and by tears reveals to mankind the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sensitive-responsive-eagerly-welcomed-everywhere-the-drama-holding/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/be-not-too-tame-neither-but-let-your-own-discretion-be-your-tutor-2/) [william shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-hold-as-t-were-the-mirror-up-to-nature/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Water is the mirror of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/water-is-the-mirror-of-nature/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [Our need to reimagine our world through the vibratory larynx, that's what matters. Re-awaken the world to itself. Through ideas, pictures, sounds. Hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/our-need-to-reimagine-our-world-through-the-vibratory-larynx-that-s/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [There's a quote from Hamlet that is my guide... He tells the players not to exaggerate but to hold a mirror up to nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wyeth/there-s-a-quote-from-hamlet-that-is-my-guide-he-tells-the-players-not/) [Andrew Wyeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wyeth/) > [Hold the mirror up to nature. Human behavior is worthy of examination and celebration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/hold-the-mirror-up-to-nature-human-behavior-is-worthy-of-examination/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [“...I know Shakespeare said art is holding up a mirror to nature- but you're actually bending and refracting it through your interior dialogue ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-know-shakespeare-said-art-is-holding-up-a-mirror-to-nature-but-you/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [The only line that's wrong in Shakespeare is 'holding a mirror up to nature.' You hold a magnifying glass up to nature. As an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-clift/the-only-line-that-s-wrong-in-shakespeare-is-holding-a-mirror-up-to/) [Montgomery Clift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montgomery-clift/) > [I have always believed that your face is a mirror to your nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sridevi/i-have-always-believed-that-your-face-is-a-mirror-to-your-nature/) [Sridevi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sridevi/) ## More by Joan Mitchell > [White... is death. It's hospitals. It's my terrible nurses. White is absolute horror. It is just the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/white-is-death-it-s-hospitals-it-s-my-terrible-nurses-white-is/) [Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) > [Abstract is not a style. I simply want to make a surface work. This is just a use of space and form: it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/abstract-is-not-a-style-i-simply-want-to-make-a-surface-work-this-is/) [Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) > [Sunflowers are like people to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/sunflowers-are-like-people-to-me/) [Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) > [My paintings repeat a feeling about Lake Michigan, or water, or fields...it's more like a poem...and that's what I want to paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/my-paintings-repeat-a-feeling-about-lake-michigan-or-water-or-fields/) [Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) [Explore all 5 Joan Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) ## 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": "My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me - and remembered feelings of them, which of course become transformed. I could certainly never mirror nature. I would more like to paint what it leaves with me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Mitchell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-finished-i-paint-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-finished-i-paint-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/joan-mitchell-60922_artist_my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-f_388525.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/joan-mitchell-60922_artist_my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-f_388525.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/joan-mitchell-60922_artist_my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-f_388525.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me…” — Joan Mitchell", "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 Mitchell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My paintings are titled after they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-finished-i-paint-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-finished-i-paint-from/#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 } } ] } ```