--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If people looked at me like I was a…" description: "\"If people looked at me like I was a little different, I would maybe sit next to them, and I would draw.\" — Kehinde Wiley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-litt_426915.jpg" --- # If people looked at me like I was a little different, I… ![“If people looked at me like I was a little different, I would maybe sit next to them, and I would draw.” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-litt_426915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-litt_426915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-litt_426915.jpg) > “If people looked at me like I was a little different, I would maybe sit next to them, and I would draw.” [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling judged for being different can lead to isolation, but choosing to engage and create bridges gaps. **In simple terms:** Being different can cause isolation, but drawing connects people. Key Takeaway Engage and create to overcome feeling judged. Themes identity creativity social connection Mood reflective hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - classroom interactions - community events - online forums - collaborative projects Key Concepts self‑expression empathy artistic dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn perceived differences into creative opportunities? - What steps help you feel comfortable sharing your art? A Different Perspective Not everyone will respond positively; artistic may feel vulnerable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I sometimes sit and draw people on the bus, or some fantasy hybrid animal. You know, wherever the hand will lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/i-sometimes-sit-and-draw-people-on-the-bus-or-some-fantasy-hybrid/) [Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/) > [Sometimes you want to ease into the situation and maybe sit in the back row for a while and allow time to get adjusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cousins/sometimes-you-want-to-ease-into-the-situation-and-maybe-sit-in-the/) [Kirk Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cousins/) > [I used to sit and draw in the evening with a couple of crates of beer. That makes the ideas flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-linley/i-used-to-sit-and-draw-in-the-evening-with-a-couple-of-crates-of-beer/) [David Linley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-linley/) > [I would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and draw for hours and hours and hours. In a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-would-still-like-to-have-that-luxury-to-be-able-to-just-sit-and/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I sit down and draw from my lyric book. I sit down and start looking through it and see if there is anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ray/i-sit-down-and-draw-from-my-lyric-book-i-sit-down-and-start-looking/) [Amy Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ray/) > [Maybe I should sit. Plenty of people use sitting as a way to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-graham/maybe-i-should-sit-plenty-of-people-use-sitting-as-a-way-to-pass-the/) [Lauren Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-graham/) > [Sometimes, we should maybe sit back and look at all we have. It's because of golf and the tour. I mean, this life we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-singh/sometimes-we-should-maybe-sit-back-and-look-at-all-we-have-it-s/) [Vijay Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-singh/) > [If I'm hurting the team with my play, then maybe I have to sit out a game. If I think I can be effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-johnson/if-i-m-hurting-the-team-with-my-play-then-maybe-i-have-to-sit-out-a/) [Larry Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-johnson/) > [Personally, sometimes I grow from these situations when you don't have a good moment, maybe sit on the bench.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-havertz/personally-sometimes-i-grow-from-these-situations-when-you-don-t-have/) [Kai Havertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-havertz/) > [Maybe if we sit out for the next few years and let Clint Eastwood get a little experience, he's going to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/maybe-if-we-sit-out-for-the-next-few-years-and-let-clint-eastwood-get/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [Girls and Guys were meant to be different. - Maybe true... maybe not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria/girls-and-guys-were-meant-to-be-different-maybe-true-maybe-not/) [Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria/) > [There are so many scripts and they are fantastic. I think I would like to do something different, maybe something smaller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/there-are-so-many-scripts-and-they-are-fantastic-i-think-i-would-like/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [“He was different. Maybe he was so different he was broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-rucka/he-was-different-maybe-he-was-so-different-he-was-broken/) [Greg Rucka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-rucka/) > [I'm sometimes critical about other artists who come out with something different until maybe I hear the music. If the music is there, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-austin-green/i-m-sometimes-critical-about-other-artists-who-come-out-with/) [Brian Austin Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-austin-green/) > [“Maybe it isn't the room that's different. Maybe it's me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/maybe-it-isn-t-the-room-that-s-different-maybe-it-s-me/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) ## More by Kehinde Wiley > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The erotic and the art historical imagination is something that gets very little play when people talk about my work, and when they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-erotic-and-the-art-historical-imagination-is-something-that-gets/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [At its best, what art does is, it points to who we as human beings and what we as human beings value. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/at-its-best-what-art-does-is-it-points-to-who-we-as-human-beings-and/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [My style is in the 21st century. If you look at the process, it goes from photography through Photoshop, where certain features are heightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-style-is-in-the-21st-century-if-you-look-at-the-process-it-goes/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think the world that I grew up in was like being in this sort of magical artistic garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-the-world-that-i-grew-up-in-was-like-being-in-this-sort-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [It was something that came sort of matter-of-factually. Because there - it's like really - real honest engagement with the people around me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/it-was-something-that-came-sort-of-matter-of-factually-because-there/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [We're wired to be empathetic and to care about the needs of others, but also to be curious about others. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/we-re-wired-to-be-empathetic-and-to-care-about-the-needs-of-others/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Painting is situational. And my particular situation exists within gender, race, class, sexuality, nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/painting-is-situational-and-my-particular-situation-exists-within/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think, something that you might be able to locate in the work that I'm creating today: the ability to look at a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-something-that-you-might-be-able-to-locate-in-the-work-that-i/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I remember the first time I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and saw a Kerry James Marshall painting with black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-the-los-angeles-county-museum-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I believe that artists should be part of the culture. I think that my work clearly bears that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-believe-that-artists-should-be-part-of-the-culture-i-think-that-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I guess art is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-guess-art-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Just physically, if you looked at the house that I grew up in, my mother created this greenhouse. And surrounded the entire property. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/just-physically-if-you-looked-at-the-house-that-i-grew-up-in-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Explore all 275 Kehinde Wiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## 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": "If people looked at me like I was a little different, I would maybe sit next to them, and I would draw.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kehinde Wiley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-little-different-i-would-maybe/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-little-different-i-would-maybe/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-litt_426915.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-litt_426915.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-litt_426915.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If people looked at me like I was a little different, I would maybe sit next to them, and I would draw.” — Kehinde Wiley", "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": "Kehinde Wiley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If people looked at me like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-little-different-i-would-maybe/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/if-people-looked-at-me-like-i-was-a-little-different-i-would-maybe/#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 } } ] } ```