--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Learning to draw is really a matter of…" description: "\"Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more than merely looking with the eye.\" — Kimon ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-l_391356.png" --- # Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see… ![“Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more than merely looking with the eye.” quote by Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-l_391356.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-l_391356.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-l_391356.png) > “Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more than merely looking with the eye.” [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True drawing skill comes from learning to perceive accurately, not just looking superficially. **In simple terms:** Seeing correctly is key to drawing. Key Takeaway Practice deep observation to improve art. Themes perception skill artistry Mood thoughtful reflective Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - art classes - self‑study - design work - illustration projects Key Concepts visual cognition mindful observation technique Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception affect your work? - What steps help you see beyond the surface? A Different Perspective Seeing alone isn’t enough; physical practice and feedback are essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw/) [Draw Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw-really-3418108/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learning Correctly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-correctly-3530564/) [Learning Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-draw-2802108/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) ## Related quotes > [Be clear in your mind why learning to draw well is important. 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If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-always-thought-i-d-eventually-learn-how-to-draw-really-well-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I would go to sketch groups and draw. I really enjoyed the subject matter, but I wasn't good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-prelutsky/i-would-go-to-sketch-groups-and-draw-i-really-enjoyed-the-subject/) [Jack Prelutsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-prelutsky/) > [I used to obsessively draw. I was really good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-used-to-obsessively-draw-i-was-really-good-at-it/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [I can draw really well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-paisley/i-can-draw-really-well/) [Brad Paisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-paisley/) > [I go out each morning and draw. I can't really start a painting in the morning until I've done a drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-auerbach/i-go-out-each-morning-and-draw-i-can-t-really-start-a-painting-in-the/) [Frank Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-auerbach/) > [There is only one right way to draw... physical contact with all sorts of objects through all the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/there-is-only-one-right-way-to-draw-physical-contact-with-all-sorts/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Man can make only the rules. He cannot make the laws, which are the laws of nature. It is the understanding of these laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/man-can-make-only-the-rules-he-cannot-make-the-laws-which-are-the/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) ## More by Kimon Nicolaides > [All that you need in the way of technique for drawing is bound up in the technique of seeing - that is, of understanding,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/all-that-you-need-in-the-way-of-technique-for-drawing-is-bound-up-in/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [You should draw not what the thing looks like, not even what it is, but what it is doing... Gesture has no precise edges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-should-draw-not-what-the-thing-looks-like-not-even-what-it-is-but/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Man can make only the rules. He cannot make the laws, which are the laws of nature. It is the understanding of these laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/man-can-make-only-the-rules-he-cannot-make-the-laws-which-are-the/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [The sooner you make your first five thousand mistakes the sooner you will be able to correct them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/the-sooner-you-make-your-first-five-thousand-mistakes-the-sooner-you/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [There is only one right way to draw... physical contact with all sorts of objects through all the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/there-is-only-one-right-way-to-draw-physical-contact-with-all-sorts/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Technique should be taught, not as an end in itself, but as something related to individual expression, as a means toward an end. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/technique-should-be-taught-not-as-an-end-in-itself-but-as-something/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Committing oneself to a technique causes stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/committing-oneself-to-a-technique-causes-stagnation/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [You are not to think of painting as something separate from drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-are-not-to-think-of-painting-as-something-separate-from-drawing/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [To understand theory is not enough. Much practice is necessary...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/to-understand-theory-is-not-enough-much-practice-is-necessary/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [You cannot govern the creative impulse; all you can do is eliminate obstacles and smooth the way for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-cannot-govern-the-creative-impulse-all-you-can-do-is-eliminate/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off. You have to start where he started... at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/there-is-no-such-thing-as-starting-where-cezanne-left-off-you-have-to/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [When we use numbers we are using symbols, and it is only when we transfer them to life that they become actualities. The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/when-we-use-numbers-we-are-using-symbols-and-it-is-only-when-we/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [“The first function of an art student is to observe, to study nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/the-first-function-of-an-art-student-is-to-observe-to-study-nature/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Merely to see... is not enough. It is necessary to have a fresh, vivid, physical contact with the object you draw through as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/merely-to-see-is-not-enough-it-is-necessary-to-have-a-fresh-vivid/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Art should be concerned more with life than with art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/art-should-be-concerned-more-with-life-than-with-art/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) [Explore all 16 Kimon Nicolaides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more than merely looking with the eye.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kimon Nicolaides" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-learning-to-see-to-see/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-learning-to-see-to-see/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-l_391356.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-l_391356.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/kimon-nicolaides-31321_artist_learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-l_391356.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more…” — Kimon Nicolaides", "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": "Kimon Nicolaides", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Learning to draw is really a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-learning-to-see-to-see/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/learning-to-draw-is-really-a-matter-of-learning-to-see-to-see/#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 } } ] } ```