--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to like everything that you're…" description: "\"You have to like everything that you're painting. Maybe on a narrative level it seems harsh... but I like everything in all my paintings. It's as if yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/john-currin-23505_artist_you-have-to-like-everything-that-you-re_1592617.jpg" --- # You have to like everything that you're painting. Maybe on… ![“You have to like everything that you're painting. Maybe on a narrative level it seems harsh... but I like everything in all my paintings. It's as if you need to be less intelligent at that level.” quote by John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/john-currin-23505_artist_you-have-to-like-everything-that-you-re_1592617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/john-currin-23505_artist_you-have-to-like-everything-that-you-re_1592617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/john-currin-23505_artist_you-have-to-like-everything-that-you-re_1592617.jpg) > “You have to like everything that you're painting. Maybe on a narrative level it seems harsh... but I like everything in all my paintings. It's as if you need to be less intelligent at that level.” [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He embraces all aspects of his work, even if it seems naïve, suggesting that less intellect can free artistic expression. **In simple terms:** Accept all parts of your art, even the simple. Key Takeaway Allow intuition to guide your painting. Themes art creativity humility Mood contemplative inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting practice - art education - creative workshops Key Concepts artistic process self‑acceptance intuition Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance skill and spontaneity? - When is simplicity powerful? A Different Perspective Over‑intellectualizing can hinder art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [I made work specifically for them not to like. If you made paintings of flowers and someone says they hate it, it's like, "What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-smith/i-made-work-specifically-for-them-not-to-like-if-you-made-paintings/) [Josh Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-smith/) > [Even with painting, even abstract paintings, you need the incoming of, light on the canvas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/even-with-painting-even-abstract-paintings-you-need-the-incoming-of/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [I think that time moves slower in painting. And maybe that accounts for a lot of the anxiety around painting in the last 40…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/i-think-that-time-moves-slower-in-painting-and-maybe-that-accounts/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [I found a new life in painting, maybe because I think I've found myself. I'm so much more comfortable with myself now that, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heart-evangelista/i-found-a-new-life-in-painting-maybe-because-i-think-i-ve-found/) [Heart Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heart-evangelista/) > [“But really, all memories are like paintings: They can be incredibly vivid and lifelike. But in the end, they both just remind us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-heasley/but-really-all-memories-are-like-paintings-they-can-be-incredibly/) [Gwendolyn Heasley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-heasley/) > [When you're on a highway, viewing the western U.S. with the mountains and the flatness and the desert and all that, it's very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-ruscha/when-you-re-on-a-highway-viewing-the-western-u-s-with-the-mountains/) [Edward Ruscha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-ruscha/) > [I love beautiful things. I'm not into art so much, like paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/i-love-beautiful-things-i-m-not-into-art-so-much-like-paintings/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [“In books there are chapters to separate out the moments, to show that time is going by and things are changing, and sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-de-vigan/in-books-there-are-chapters-to-separate-out-the-moments-to-show-that/) [Delphine de Vigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-de-vigan/) > [In a way records are like paintings. Instead of using paints and brushes we use sounds and instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mclaughlin/in-a-way-records-are-like-paintings-instead-of-using-paints-and/) [John McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mclaughlin/) > [I like something about George W. Bush. A lot. After spending more than a decade having almost physiological-chemical reactions anytime I saw him, getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-like-something-about-george-w-bush-a-lot-after-spending-more-than-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Like in the paintings, there has to be moments that are completely right to be able to feel how wrong it is when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-dimattio/like-in-the-paintings-there-has-to-be-moments-that-are-completely/) [Francesca DiMattio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-dimattio/) > [I think it's absurd to believe that movies should look like paintings and say something like serious books say something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-morrissey/i-think-it-s-absurd-to-believe-that-movies-should-look-like-paintings/) [Paul Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-morrissey/) > [It's all about commerce. Movies are not made like paintings, where you can make them for free and put them at the side. Movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-guttenberg/it-s-all-about-commerce-movies-are-not-made-like-paintings-where-you/) [Steve Guttenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-guttenberg/) > [If my husband ever met a woman on the street who looked like one of his paintings he would faint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-roque/if-my-husband-ever-met-a-woman-on-the-street-who-looked-like-one-of/) Jacqueline Roque > [I like all paintings. I always look at the paintings, good or bad, in barbershops, furniture stores, provincial hotels. 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/) ## More by John Currin > [There is a fascination with violence and power in all modernism, and I sort of saw classic modernism as being more similar to Wyndham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-is-a-fascination-with-violence-and-power-in-all-modernism-and-i/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [A lot of times maturing as an artist is just starting to do the things you like to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/a-lot-of-times-maturing-as-an-artist-is-just-starting-to-do-the/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I think a big problem with art school is that it makes people feel like they have to be interested in everything that's of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-think-a-big-problem-with-art-school-is-that-it-makes-people-feel/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [There is, literally and figuratively, not a gold standard. That's almost as big a problem in art as in the financial world. How do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-is-literally-and-figuratively-not-a-gold-standard-that-s-almost/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [Instead of last man standing, it'll be last man smiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/instead-of-last-man-standing-it-ll-be-last-man-smiling/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [There's nothing worse than people talking about theories and humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-s-nothing-worse-than-people-talking-about-theories-and-humor/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [Your style is who you are when you’re not trying to be clever or better than you actually are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/your-style-is-who-you-are-when-you-re-not-trying-to-be-clever-or/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I think a lot of people take a scholarly approach where they feel like you're supposed to study things that depress you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-think-a-lot-of-people-take-a-scholarly-approach-where-they-feel/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [When I went to college, and I went to art school, I started to realize that Warhol was cool and that pop art was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/when-i-went-to-college-and-i-went-to-art-school-i-started-to-realize/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [Painting is like being a lawyer and attacking a corporation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/painting-is-like-being-a-lawyer-and-attacking-a-corporation/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I suppose the good artists, the righteous artists, somehow manage to be exuberant, and the embarrassed artist has this idea that everybody has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-suppose-the-good-artists-the-righteous-artists-somehow-manage-to-be/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I've always found paintings of nudes depressing because they can't compete with photographs. The grainiest photograph of some girl, a blurry Polaroid - you'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-ve-always-found-paintings-of-nudes-depressing-because-they-can-t/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [There is no misery in art. All art is about saying yes, and all art is about its own making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-is-no-misery-in-art-all-art-is-about-saying-yes-and-all-art-is/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I think what I do is find a cliché and try to believe in it, try to get to where I don't laugh at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-think-what-i-do-is-find-a-clich-and-try-to-believe-in-it-try-to-get/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I wonder whether there is such a thing as critical art. I suppose there are portraits of people who could destroy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-wonder-whether-there-is-such-a-thing-as-critical-art-i-suppose/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) [Explore all 26 John Currin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) ## 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": "You have to like everything that you're painting. Maybe on a narrative level it seems harsh... but I like everything in all my paintings. 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