--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My work is an exploration of the self…" description: "\"My work is an exploration of the self. I've always been concerned with how I'm living and how that reflects in the painting.\" — Jose Parla" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/jose-parla-31833_concerned_my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i_1372223.jpg" --- # My work is an exploration of the self. I've always been… ![“My work is an exploration of the self. I've always been concerned with how I'm living and how that reflects in the painting.” quote by Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/jose-parla-31833_concerned_my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i_1372223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/jose-parla-31833_concerned_my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i_1372223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/jose-parla-31833_concerned_my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i_1372223.jpg) > “My work is an exploration of the self. I've always been concerned with how I'm living and how that reflects in the painting.” [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The painter investigates personal identity, reflecting self‑perception in each work. **In simple terms:** Art examines self and how life is shown in painting. Key Takeaway Use art to explore self‑understanding. Themes self‑exploration identity painting Mood contemplative introspective Type statement philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - gallery shows - personal journaling Key Concepts Existential inquiry visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How does your daily life influence your art? - What does your work reveal about your inner self? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective, limiting clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Exploration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [God made us for joy. God is joy, & the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/god-made-us-for-joy-god-is-joy-the-joy-of-living-reflects-the/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Much of the geographical work of the past hundred years... has either explicitly or implicitly taken its inspiration from biology, and in particular Darwin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stoddart/much-of-the-geographical-work-of-the-past-hundred-years-has-either/) David Stoddart > [Many artists, having assimilated the Conceptualists' explorations to varying degrees, have reused the painterly model and use photography, quite consciously and systematically, to produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-chevrier/many-artists-having-assimilated-the-conceptualists-explorations-to/) [Jean-Francois Chevrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-chevrier/) > [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I stayed in the astronaut program until 1993. People ask me why I left. I thought I had a lot of things to contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-stayed-in-the-astronaut-program-until-1993-people-ask-me-why-i-left/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“Life is short. The world is big. It awaits your exploration. If you're not living on the edge, you're just taking up way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beaver/life-is-short-the-world-is-big-it-awaits-your-exploration-if-you-re/) Paul Beaver > [If I had to define my philosophy, it would be about exploration, a journey, a story-telling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-chalayan/if-i-had-to-define-my-philosophy-it-would-be-about-exploration-a/) [Hussein Chalayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-chalayan/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“The depth of a man is a limit only he can know, should he have the courage to explore into the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schmalenberg/the-depth-of-a-man-is-a-limit-only-he-can-know-should-he-have-the/) [Kyle Schmalenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schmalenberg/) > [When you're younger, you're more selfish, because there's so much self-exploration, you're in your own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-re-younger-you-re-more-selfish-because-there-s-so-much-self/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [One day I may commit to a city and settle down and do the restaurant thing - when I'm ready and however and whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-kish/one-day-i-may-commit-to-a-city-and-settle-down-and-do-the-restaurant/) Kristen Kish > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) Alexander Agassiz > [I definitely go through periods where I'm in a particular mood, or there's a consistent imaginative context that I feel I'm in, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-definitely-go-through-periods-where-i-m-in-a-particular-mood-or/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [“Mars looks like Vegas without the casinos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-neill/mars-looks-like-vegas-without-the-casinos/) [Sam Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-neill/) ## More by Jose Parla > [I never want to abandon my roots. I want to give my past and the history of painting the importance it deserves, including the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/i-never-want-to-abandon-my-roots-i-want-to-give-my-past-and-the/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [I think artists should define themselves. They should speak about their work and how it relates to society and what's going on in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/i-think-artists-should-define-themselves-they-should-speak-about/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [For me, the canvas is an abstract interpretation of a wall. It's a piece of art with its own history, one that alludes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/for-me-the-canvas-is-an-abstract-interpretation-of-a-wall-it-s-a/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [Sometimes I'm inspired by a certain part of my life - I'm thinking about a place and I'll mix the colors from memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/sometimes-i-m-inspired-by-a-certain-part-of-my-life-i-m-thinking/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [Sometimes I'm not so sure how healthy it is because it's exhausting to put all your emotion into your work, but I guess I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/sometimes-i-m-not-so-sure-how-healthy-it-is-because-it-s-exhausting/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [As a young kid I was in love with breakdancing. I practiced the uprock style, which is a battle style of dance that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/as-a-young-kid-i-was-in-love-with-breakdancing-i-practiced-the-uprock/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [When I was young I was constantly reading walls; I took in everything written on walls, from love messages to political messages. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/when-i-was-young-i-was-constantly-reading-walls-i-took-in-everything/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [You try to tap into a memory and you close your eyes and it comes back. So I was doing this in the painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/you-try-to-tap-into-a-memory-and-you-close-your-eyes-and-it-comes/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [One teacher told me that my work belonged in the trash. That day I ran out of the classroom and ended up in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/one-teacher-told-me-that-my-work-belonged-in-the-trash-that-day-i-ran/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [I have too much energy, even for myself. I'm lucky to have something that focuses me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/i-have-too-much-energy-even-for-myself-i-m-lucky-to-have-something/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [People have thought that some of my writing and lines are done by a machine. I'm able to move in a way that's part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/people-have-thought-that-some-of-my-writing-and-lines-are-done-by-a/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [Sometimes I think I shouldn't explain much about my work because people will just feel what they feel when they see it. They'll love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/sometimes-i-think-i-shouldn-t-explain-much-about-my-work-because/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [The walls around us bear witness to lives past and present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/the-walls-around-us-bear-witness-to-lives-past-and-present/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [My style also has a lot to do with theater because often I'm imagining I'm a character who is wandering by a wall and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/my-style-also-has-a-lot-to-do-with-theater-because-often-i-m/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) > [If I'm going through something, I paint through it. It's very physical. I'm writing, I'm thinking, I'm meditating, I'm moving, I'm jumping off ladders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/if-i-m-going-through-something-i-paint-through-it-it-s-very-physical/) [Jose Parla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) [Explore all 16 Jose Parla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/) ## 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 work is an exploration of the self. I've always been concerned with how I'm living and how that reflects in the painting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Parla" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i-ve-always-been-concerned-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i-ve-always-been-concerned-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/jose-parla-31833_concerned_my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i_1372223.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/jose-parla-31833_concerned_my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i_1372223.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/jose-parla-31833_concerned_my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i_1372223.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My work is an exploration of the self. I've always been concerned with how I'm living and how that reflects…” — Jose Parla", "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": "Jose Parla", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-parla/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My work is an exploration of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i-ve-always-been-concerned-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-parla/my-work-is-an-exploration-of-the-self-i-ve-always-been-concerned-with/#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 } } ] } ```