--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My studio practice is a - I suppose a bit…" description: "\"My studio practice is a - I suppose a bit more like [Thomas] Gainsborough or [Peter Paul] Rubens in the sense that any artist who wants to create a gra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit_2097387.jpg" --- # My studio practice is a - I suppose a bit more like… ![“My studio practice is a - I suppose a bit more like [Thomas] Gainsborough or [Peter Paul] Rubens in the sense that any artist who wants to create a grand narrative on a grand scale has to sort of parse out some of the smaller aspects of painting or the more mundane aspects of painting to others.” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit_2097387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit_2097387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit_2097387.jpg) > “My studio practice is a - I suppose a bit more like \[Thomas\] Gainsborough or \[Peter Paul\] Rubens in the sense that any artist who wants to create a grand narrative on a grand scale has to sort of parse out some of the smaller aspects of painting or the more mundane aspects of painting to others.” [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. He describes his studio method as delegating detailed work to collaborators, allowing him to focus on overarching narrative composition. **In simple terms:** He splits big ideas from small tasks with help. Key Takeaway Delegate details to focus on vision. Themes collaboration artistic process scale narrative division of labor Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - large murals - portrait commissions - team workshops Key Concepts studio practice art history creative leadership Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure collaborators share your vision? - What challenges arise when scaling artistic concepts? A Different Perspective Reliance on assistants can dilute personal touch. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Aspect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspect/) [Bits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bits/) [Grand Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grand-narrative-2289943/) [Mundane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mundane/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narrative Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative-grand-4175310/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Mundane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-mundane-4175308/) [Paul Rubens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paul-rubens-4175309/) [Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peter/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Rubens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubens/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) [Studio Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studio-practice-4175307/) [Studios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studios/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Many activists don't want to hear about some grand narrative, one that could unify all of our struggles. So the major issue that needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/many-activists-don-t-want-to-hear-about-some-grand-narrative-one-that/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [“The great metanarrative of progress and conquest has run aground on the shoals of environmental concern and a loss of confidence in science and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-b-robinson/the-great-metanarrative-of-progress-and-conquest-has-run-aground-on/) [Anthony B. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-b-robinson/) > [We know from Talmadge Hayer, one of the men who carried out the assassination, who was shot by Ruben X as he tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/we-know-from-talmadge-hayer-one-of-the-men-who-carried-out-the/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [“I’ve never known of a serious artist who was happy. Except maybe Rubens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-ve-never-known-of-a-serious-artist-who-was-happy-except-maybe-rubens/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“The garden was crossed by a path of red gravel, edged by a border of thick box, of many years' growth, and of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-garden-was-crossed-by-a-path-of-red-gravel-edged-by-a-border-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On the left is the realist tradition of the 19th century, with its impulse to social description, radical criticism and meditation on things as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-courbet/on-the-left-is-the-realist-tradition-of-the-19th-century-with-its/) [Gustave Courbet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-courbet/) > [For - to say a few words on technique - whereas the curved line was used predominantly for reasons of beauty, (Phidias, Michelangelo, Raphael,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-van-doesburg/for-to-say-a-few-words-on-technique-whereas-the-curved-line-was-used/) [Theo van Doesburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-van-doesburg/) > [“It is foolish for Rubens to show her simpering. They were clearly guilty and did her much sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gilbert/it-is-foolish-for-rubens-to-show-her-simpering-they-were-clearly/) [Jack Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gilbert/) > [Whether you think you like Rubens or not, his influence runs through the pathways of painting. Like Warhol, he changed the game of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-saville/whether-you-think-you-like-rubens-or-not-his-influence-runs-through/) [Jenny Saville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-saville/) > [To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-contemptible-his-shadows-are-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [But why I cry out against Rubens is because he painted undressed people instead of naked ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/but-why-i-cry-out-against-rubens-is-because-he-painted-undressed/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“Doing nothing guarantees failure -Rubens”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/doing-nothing-guarantees-failure-rubens/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I were alive in Rubens's time, I'd be celebrated as a model. Kate Moss would be used as a paint brush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/if-i-were-alive-in-rubens-s-time-i-d-be-celebrated-as-a-model-kate/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [A Gustave Courbet portrait of a trout has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/a-gustave-courbet-portrait-of-a-trout-has-more-death-in-it-than/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [I just want everyone to know I'm suing Ruben Studdard. He had his hand on my ass and he wouldn't let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-just-want-everyone-to-know-i-m-suing-ruben-studdard-he-had-his-hand/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) ## 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 Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My studio practice is a - I suppose a bit more like [Thomas] Gainsborough or [Peter Paul] Rubens in the sense that any artist who wants to create a grand narrative on a grand scale has to sort of parse out some of the smaller aspects of painting or the more mundane aspects of painting to others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kehinde Wiley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit-more-like-thomas-gainsborough/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit-more-like-thomas-gainsborough/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit_2097387.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit_2097387.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit_2097387.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My studio practice is a - I suppose a bit more like [Thomas] Gainsborough or [Peter Paul] Rubens in the…” — 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": "My studio practice is a -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit-more-like-thomas-gainsborough/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-studio-practice-is-a-i-suppose-a-bit-more-like-thomas-gainsborough/#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 } } ] } ```