--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It may be a cliche, but cliche or not, I…" description: "\"It may be a cliche, but cliche or not, I fear the day when the only marsh harriers or peregrines I can look at are in paintings by Joseph Wolf or Bruno..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/john-burnside-8167_artist_it-may-be-a-cliche-but-cliche-or-not-i-f_2445300.jpg" --- # It may be a cliche, but cliche or not, I fear the day when… ![“It may be a cliche, but cliche or not, I fear the day when the only marsh harriers or peregrines I can look at are in paintings by Joseph Wolf or Bruno Liljefors - and no matter how beautiful those works may be, life is the great thing: life, life, life.” quote by John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/john-burnside-8167_artist_it-may-be-a-cliche-but-cliche-or-not-i-f_2445300.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/john-burnside-8167_artist_it-may-be-a-cliche-but-cliche-or-not-i-f_2445300.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/john-burnside-8167_artist_it-may-be-a-cliche-but-cliche-or-not-i-f_2445300.jpg) > “It may be a cliche, but cliche or not, I fear the day when the only marsh harriers or peregrines I can look at are in paintings by Joseph Wolf or Bruno Liljefors - and no matter how beautiful those works may be, life is the great thing: life, life, life.” [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet fears that nature’s marvels will be known only through art, urging us to value living life itself. **In simple terms:** Nature may become only art; live fully now. Key Takeaway Prioritize living experiences over passive observation. Themes environment art existence Mood urgent hopeful Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - wildlife photography - birdwatching - environmental activism Key Concepts conservation visual art philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can art motivate real engagement with nature? - What actions preserve wildlife today? A Different Perspective Art can inspire preservation, but may also replace direct experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“You they served me up the sun and the moon, beautiful works of Yours, but works of Yours all the same and not Yourself:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/you-they-served-me-up-the-sun-and-the-moon-beautiful-works-of-yours/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [Genius begins beautiful works, but only labor finishes them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/genius-begins-beautiful-works-but-only-labor-finishes-them/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Actually, if you look at the works of the great architects of our time, you can see that their most beautiful works are always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/actually-if-you-look-at-the-works-of-the-great-architects-of-our-time/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [Beautiful works do not intoxicate, but they enchant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/beautiful-works-do-not-intoxicate-but-they-enchant/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [She looked up at the sky, now tinged with orange. "Please live. Talk, think, act. And sometimes listen to music..." She stopped briefly. "Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koushun-takami/she-looked-up-at-the-sky-now-tinged-with-orange-please-live-talk/) [Koushun Takami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koushun-takami/) > [When I look back at my paintings, they don't give me a sense of where I was when I first met that guy. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/when-i-look-back-at-my-paintings-they-don-t-give-me-a-sense-of-where/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Status and class and social anxiety and perhaps social code are all released when you look at paintings of powerful individuals from the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/status-and-class-and-social-anxiety-and-perhaps-social-code-are-all/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think that people tend to look at the paintings as being resolved or finite. 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I'm like a drinker who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-like-all-paintings-i-always-look-at-the-paintings-good-or-bad-in/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If people would just look at the paintings, I don't think they would have any trouble enjoying them. 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perhaps they think wildness could work only in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/i-have-never-understood-why-so-many-gardeners-favour-straight-lines/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [The son of a Fife mining town sledder of coal-bings, bottle-forager, and picture-house troglodyte, I was decidedly urban and knew little about native fauna,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/the-son-of-a-fife-mining-town-sledder-of-coal-bings-bottle-forager/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [ “Everything stayed hidden \[…\] it was all secret – known by anyone who cared to know, but unacknowledged, like a priest’s feverish brightness around… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/everything-stayed-hidden-it-was-all-secret-known-by-anyone-who-cared/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) [Explore all 83 John Burnside quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) ## 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. 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