--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of…" description: "\"Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of being a painter, but I earned my money when and where I could. You could say I drifted into writing.\" — John Berger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/john-berger-1590_artist_until-1954-i-d-only-ever-thought-of-bein_619715.png" --- # Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of being a painter, but… ![“Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of being a painter, but I earned my money when and where I could. You could say I drifted into writing.” quote by John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/john-berger-1590_artist_until-1954-i-d-only-ever-thought-of-bein_619715.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/john-berger-1590_artist_until-1954-i-d-only-ever-thought-of-bein_619715.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/john-berger-1590_artist_until-1954-i-d-only-ever-thought-of-bein_619715.png) > “Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of being a painter, but I earned my money when and where I could. You could say I drifted into writing.” [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on an unexpected career shift from painting to writing, emphasizing adaptability and following opportunity. **In simple terms:** He moved from art to words, guided by circumstance. Key Takeaway Embrace new paths when they arise. Themes career evolution creativity adaptability Mood reflective hopeful Type personal career When to use this quote - art school - writing workshops - freelance work Key Concepts artistic identity professional transition Questions to Reflect On - What skills transferred between painting and writing? - How do you recognize a new calling? A Different Perspective Changing fields can feel like abandoning original passion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1954 Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1954-thought-5016808/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Drifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifted/) [Drifted Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifted-writing-2897346/) [Earned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earned/) [Earned Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earned-money-259518/) [Ever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painter Earned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter-earned-5016807/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-painter-2720558/) [Until](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/until/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [I certainly was an actor and then I drifted more towards writing and directing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-haden-church/i-certainly-was-an-actor-and-then-i-drifted-more-towards-writing-and/) [Thomas Haden Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-haden-church/) > [Beethoven was so hard of hearing, he thought he was a painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/beethoven-was-so-hard-of-hearing-he-thought-he-was-a-painter/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [I was born in Seoul, South Korea; then I moved to New York City at the age of seventeen. In New York, I studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sung-jin-park/i-was-born-in-seoul-south-korea-then-i-moved-to-new-york-city-at-the/) [Sung Jin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sung-jin-park/) > [I have always thought of myself as a painter derailed by circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-have-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-painter-derailed-by-circumstance/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [For me becoming a painter was an Everest, in terms of what I thought a painter was. There are many roads to becoming an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caio-fonseca/for-me-becoming-a-painter-was-an-everest-in-terms-of-what-i-thought-a/) [Caio Fonseca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caio-fonseca/) > [I went to art high school and thought I'd be a painter. Unfortunately I didn't finish high school, but that's always been part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/i-went-to-art-high-school-and-thought-i-d-be-a-painter-unfortunately/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [You have not lived a perfect day, even though you have earned your money, unless you have done something for someone who will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-smeltzer/you-have-not-lived-a-perfect-day-even-though-you-have-earned-your/) [Ruth Smeltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-smeltzer/) > [I've always earned my own money and enjoy being independent. It's how I was brought up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-air/i-ve-always-earned-my-own-money-and-enjoy-being-independent-it-s-how/) [Donna Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-air/) > [I haven't earned much money through films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diljit-dosanjh/i-haven-t-earned-much-money-through-films/) [Diljit Dosanjh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diljit-dosanjh/) > [I don't want to sit by the edge, like some other guys who have played their game. Earned money, have nice lifestyles, and don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-campbell/i-don-t-want-to-sit-by-the-edge-like-some-other-guys-who-have-played/) [Sol Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-campbell/) > [I don't care if Trump has $100 billion. He's earned it. He's had a job. There are ways you can track what he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-don-t-care-if-trump-has-100-billion-he-s-earned-it-he-s-had-a-job/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I have always held the conviction that American citizens should keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-have-always-held-the-conviction-that-american-citizens-should-keep/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [I have earned the money and changed the nappies!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/i-have-earned-the-money-and-changed-the-nappies/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [If it is wrong for you to take money from someone else who earned it, to take their money by force for your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/if-it-is-wrong-for-you-to-take-money-from-someone-else-who-earned-it/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [American taxpayers expect and deserve to know where their hard-earned money is going and how it is being used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johnson/american-taxpayers-expect-and-deserve-to-know-where-their-hard-earned/) [Mike Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johnson/) ## More by John Berger > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Oil painting did to appearances what capital did to social relations. It reduced everything to the equality of objects. Everything became exchangeable because everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/oil-painting-did-to-appearances-what-capital-did-to-social-relations/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/landscapes-can-be-deceptive-sometimes-a-landscape-seems-to-be-less-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We live in a dominant culture of ceaseless Departure and Progress that has so far lasted two or three centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-live-in-a-dominant-culture-of-ceaseless-departure-and-progress/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [My heart born naked was swaddled in lullabies. Later alone it wore poems for clothes. Like a shirt I carried on my back the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/my-heart-born-naked-was-swaddled-in-lullabies-later-alone-it-wore/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [ There's the artist's intimacy and truthfulness to himself, but an equal intimacy to the Other \[the one drawn\]. Picasso drawings are like that... the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/there-s-the-artist-s-intimacy-and-truthfulness-to-himself-but-an/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Traditional Chinese art looked at the Earth from a Confucian mountain top; Japanese art looked closely around screens; Italian Renaissance art surveyed conquered nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/traditional-chinese-art-looked-at-the-earth-from-a-confucian-mountain/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/never-again-shall-a-single-story-be-told-as-though-it-were-the-only/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [In drawing after drawing, pastel after pastel, painting after painting, the contours of Degas's dancing figures become, at a certain point, darkly insistent, tangled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/in-drawing-after-drawing-pastel-after-pastel-painting-after-painting/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-never-look-at-just-one-thing-we-are-always-looking-at-the-relation/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [We can become anything. That is why injustice is impossible here. There may be the accident of birth, there is no accident of death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/we-can-become-anything-that-is-why-injustice-is-impossible-here-there/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Capitalism survives by forcing the majority, whom it exploits, to define their own interests as narrowly as possible. This was once achieved by extensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/capitalism-survives-by-forcing-the-majority-whom-it-exploits-to/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The camera relieves us of the burden of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-camera-relieves-us-of-the-burden-of-memory/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“Today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before. We actually perceive it in a different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/today-we-see-the-art-of-the-past-as-nobody-saw-it-before-we-actually/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) [Explore all 214 John Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of being a painter, but I earned my money when and where I could. 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