--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My brush-strokes start in nothing and…" description: "\"My brush-strokes start in nothing and they end in nothing, and in-between you find the image.\" — Karel Appel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/karel-appel-39463_artist_my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-th_2375140.png" --- # My brush-strokes start in nothing and they end in nothing… ![“My brush-strokes start in nothing and they end in nothing, and in-between you find the image.” quote by Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/karel-appel-39463_artist_my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-th_2375140.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/karel-appel-39463_artist_my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-th_2375140.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/karel-appel-39463_artist_my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-th_2375140.png) > “My brush-strokes start in nothing and they end in nothing, and in-between you find the image.” [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes his painting process as starting and ending in emptiness, with the image forming in between. **In simple terms:** Art begins and ends with nothing, the image emerges in the middle. Key Takeaway Find meaning in the creative process itself. Themes art creation emptiness Mood contemplative inspirational Type visual arts philosophical When to use this quote - studio work - exhibitions - art education - meditation Key Concepts existentialism visual perception process art Questions to Reflect On - What does “nothing” mean to you? - How does the process shape the final piece? A Different Perspective The concept may be too abstract for some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Brush strokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brush-strokes/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [Grain is the brush stroke of photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantine-manos/grain-is-the-brush-stroke-of-photography/) [Constantine Manos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantine-manos/) > [End with an image and don't explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kunitz/end-with-an-image-and-don-t-explain/) [Stanley Kunitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kunitz/) > [Well, I am not interested in the kind of expression that you have when you paint a painting with brush strokes. It's all right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/well-i-am-not-interested-in-the-kind-of-expression-that-you-have-when/) [Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/) > [The pictures were painted directly through me, without preliminary drawings and with great power. I had no idea what the pictures would depict and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilma-af-klint/the-pictures-were-painted-directly-through-me-without-preliminary/) Hilma af Klint > [When everything is added up, the frequent blows weighted against the sporadic triumphs, this is I have to say not just a vocation, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/when-everything-is-added-up-the-frequent-blows-weighted-against-the/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [To change your mind under the direction of the wisdom of the heart is a brush stroke on the masterpiece you are delivering to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/to-change-your-mind-under-the-direction-of-the-wisdom-of-the-heart-is/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word "crisis." One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/the-chinese-use-two-brush-strokes-to-write-the-word-crisis-one-brush-2/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [Naked I came into the world, but brush strokes cover me, language raises me, music rhythms me. Art is my rod and staff, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/naked-i-came-into-the-world-but-brush-strokes-cover-me-language/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Is as if the music is another character or as if it was a part of this great opera. I also through about this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/is-as-if-the-music-is-another-character-or-as-if-it-was-a-part-of/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [How much of your life can you account for? My life is a collage of unaccounted for brush strokes; I am all random”.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/how-much-of-your-life-can-you-account-for-my-life-is-a-collage-of/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [To me, the whole process of being a brush stroke in someone else's painting is a little difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-me-the-whole-process-of-being-a-brush-stroke-in-someone-else-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more you paint the more fluent you are with your brush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-babailov/the-more-you-paint-the-more-fluent-you-are-with-your-brush/) [Igor Babailov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-babailov/) > [Take your brush here and there like a bee in an alpine meadow. In other words, don't laboriously work on or try to finish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/take-your-brush-here-and-there-like-a-bee-in-an-alpine-meadow-in/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [My whole philosophy in survival is to take down brush as soon as you get in a situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/my-whole-philosophy-in-survival-is-to-take-down-brush-as-soon-as-you/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [Our fans have been branded with the same brush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-atkinson/our-fans-have-been-branded-with-the-same-brush/) [Ron Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-atkinson/) ## More by Karel Appel > [I don't paint, I hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/i-don-t-paint-i-hit/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [You have to learn it all, then forget it and start again like a child. This is the inner evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/you-have-to-learn-it-all-then-forget-it-and-start-again-like-a-child/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [When I was young I once found a book in a Dutch translation, 'The leaves of Grass'. It was the first time a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/when-i-was-young-i-once-found-a-book-in-a-dutch-translation-the/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [If I paint like a barbarian, it's because we live in a barbarous age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/if-i-paint-like-a-barbarian-it-s-because-we-live-in-a-barbarous-age/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [Through play, we renew contact with childhood – My art is childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/through-play-we-renew-contact-with-childhood-my-art-is-childlike/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [The duty of the artist is not to be calculating in any sense, so that he may be free himself of human emotions while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/the-duty-of-the-artist-is-not-to-be-calculating-in-any-sense-so-that/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [As an artist you have to fight and survive the wilderness to keep your creative freedom. Creativity is very fragile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/as-an-artist-you-have-to-fight-and-survive-the-wilderness-to-keep/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [Every day I have to be awake to escape.. ..The whole world is sleepy. It is a real fight to be awake, to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/every-day-i-have-to-be-awake-to-escape-the-whole-world-is-sleepy-it/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [My paint is like a rocket, which describes its own space. I try to make the impossible possible. What is happening I cannot foresee,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/my-paint-is-like-a-rocket-which-describes-its-own-space-i-try-to-make/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) > [I'm not a pessimist. Maybe I don't have a primitive feeling of happiness, that is true. Sometimes my color is happy but not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/i-m-not-a-pessimist-maybe-i-don-t-have-a-primitive-feeling-of/) [Karel Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) [Explore all 11 Karel Appel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/) ## 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 brush-strokes start in nothing and they end in nothing, and in-between you find the image.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karel Appel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-they-end-in-nothing-and-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-they-end-in-nothing-and-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/karel-appel-39463_artist_my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-th_2375140.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/karel-appel-39463_artist_my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-th_2375140.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/karel-appel-39463_artist_my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-th_2375140.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My brush-strokes start in nothing and they end in nothing, and in-between you find the image.” — Karel Appel", "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": "Karel Appel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-appel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My brush-strokes start in nothing and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-they-end-in-nothing-and-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-appel/my-brush-strokes-start-in-nothing-and-they-end-in-nothing-and-in/#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 } } ] } ```