--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Were it not for this [dissatisfaction]…" description: "\"Were it not for this [dissatisfaction], the perfect painting might be painted, on the completion of which the painter could retire. It is this great in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lucian-freud-12071_completion_were-it-not-for-this-dissatisfaction-the_1882674.jpg" --- # Were it not for this \[dissatisfaction\], the perfect… ![“Were it not for this [dissatisfaction], the perfect painting might be painted, on the completion of which the painter could retire. It is this great insufficiency that drives him on. The process of creation becomes necessary to the painter perhaps more than it is in the picture. The process is in…” quote by Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lucian-freud-12071_completion_were-it-not-for-this-dissatisfaction-the_1882674.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lucian-freud-12071_completion_were-it-not-for-this-dissatisfaction-the_1882674.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/lucian-freud-12071_completion_were-it-not-for-this-dissatisfaction-the_1882674.jpg) > “Were it not for this \[dissatisfaction\], the perfect painting might be painted, on the completion of which the painter could retire. It is this great insufficiency that drives him on. The process of creation becomes necessary to the painter perhaps more than it is in the picture. The process is in fact habit-forming.” [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist argues that an inherent sense of incompleteness fuels continual creation, making the act of making art a habit more vital than the finished work. **In simple terms:** Artists keep creating because they never feel fully satisfied. Key Takeaway Embrace the process, not just the product. Themes creativity perfectionism artistic drive Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - painting - writing - design - musical composition Key Concepts existential drive habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How does dissatisfaction motivate you? - When does it hinder you? A Different Perspective The need for perfection can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Completion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/completion/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Creation Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation-necessary-777551/) [Dissatisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissatisfaction/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Insufficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insufficiency/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Necessary Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-painter-2669095/) [Painted Completion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted-completion-2669097/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painter Retire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter-retire-2669096/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Retiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retiring/) ## Related quotes > [The process of creation becomes necessary to the painter perhaps more than is the picture. 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The promise of it is felt in the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/a-moment-of-complete-happiness-never-occurs-in-the-creation-of-a-work/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [The glory does not lie in our inadequacy, but lies in the adequacy of Christ discovered in our weakness and in our insufficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/the-glory-does-not-lie-in-our-inadequacy-but-lies-in-the-adequacy-of/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [Failure is less attributable to either insufficiency of means or impatience of labours than to a confused understanding of the thing actually to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/failure-is-less-attributable-to-either-insufficiency-of-means-or/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [My desire for knowledge is intermittent; but my desire to bathe my head in atmospheres unknown to my feet is perennial and constant. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/my-desire-for-knowledge-is-intermittent-but-my-desire-to-bathe-my/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Like writing, reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/like-writing-reading-is-a-protest-against-the-insufficiencies-of-life/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The excesses of love soon pass, but its insufficiencies torment us forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-excesses-of-love-soon-pass-but-its-insufficiencies-torment-us/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/a-truly-humble-man-is-sensible-of-his-natural-distance-from-god-of/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There are two occasions when the sacred beauty of Creation becomes dazzlingly apparent, and they occur together. One is when we feel our mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/there-are-two-occasions-when-the-sacred-beauty-of-creation-becomes/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## More by Lucian Freud > [A moment of complete happiness never occurs in the creation of a work of art. The promise of it is felt in the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/a-moment-of-complete-happiness-never-occurs-in-the-creation-of-a-work/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I don't want any colour to be noticeable... I don't want it to operate in the modernist sense as colour, something independent... Full, saturated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-don-t-want-any-colour-to-be-noticeable-i-don-t-want-it-to-operate/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-character-of-the-artist-doesn-t-enter-into-the-nature-of-the-art/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Since the model he so faithfully copies is not going to be hung up next to the picture... it is of no interest whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/since-the-model-he-so-faithfully-copies-is-not-going-to-be-hung-up/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I have a timetable, but no routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-have-a-timetable-but-no-routine/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [It is the only point of getting up every morning: to paint, to make something good, to make something even better than before, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/it-is-the-only-point-of-getting-up-every-morning-to-paint-to-make/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Full, saturated colours have an emotional significance I want to avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/full-saturated-colours-have-an-emotional-significance-i-want-to-avoid/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Sometimes, when I've been staring too hard, I've noticed that I could see the circumference of my own eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/sometimes-when-i-ve-been-staring-too-hard-i-ve-noticed-that-i-could/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [The task of the artist is to make the human being uncomfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-task-of-the-artist-is-to-make-the-human-being-uncomfortable/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I remember Francis Bacon would say that he felt he was giving art what he thought it previously lacked. With me, it's what Yeats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-remember-francis-bacon-would-say-that-he-felt-he-was-giving-art/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I think half the point of painting a picture is that you don't know what will happen... that if painters did know what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-think-half-the-point-of-painting-a-picture-is-that-you-don-t-know/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I work from the people that interest me, and that I care about, in rooms that I live in and know. I use the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-work-from-the-people-that-interest-me-and-that-i-care-about-in/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [There is a distinction between fact and truth. Truth has an element of revelation about it. If something is true, it does more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/there-is-a-distinction-between-fact-and-truth-truth-has-an-element-of/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [The painter's obsession with his subject is all that he needs to drive him to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/the-painter-s-obsession-with-his-subject-is-all-that-he-needs-to/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [I have a hatred of habit and routine. And what dogs love is just that. They like regular everything, and I don't have regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-have-a-hatred-of-habit-and-routine-and-what-dogs-love-is-just-that/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) [Explore all 56 Lucian Freud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) ## 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. 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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": "Were it not for this [dissatisfaction], the perfect painting might be painted, on the completion of which the painter could retire. It is this great insufficiency that drives him on. The process of creation becomes necessary to the painter perhaps more than it is in the picture. 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