--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I usually start by doing one or more…" description: "\"I usually start by doing one or more color studies of the subject on a piece of canvas taped to cardboard.\" — Mary Beth McKenzie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mary-beth-mckenzie-39967_canvas_i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-col_448627.jpg" --- # I usually start by doing one or more color studies of the… ![“I usually start by doing one or more color studies of the subject on a piece of canvas taped to cardboard.” quote by Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mary-beth-mckenzie-39967_canvas_i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-col_448627.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mary-beth-mckenzie-39967_canvas_i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-col_448627.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mary-beth-mckenzie-39967_canvas_i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-col_448627.jpg) > “I usually start by doing one or more color studies of the subject on a piece of canvas taped to cardboard.” [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She begins a painting by creating color studies on a taped canvas, establishing palette before the main work. **In simple terms:** Start with color studies on taped canvas. Key Takeaway Use color studies to set tone. Themes painting technique process Mood practical creative Type instructional artist When to use this quote - studio practice - art classes - personal projects Key Concepts color theory preparation Questions to Reflect On - Do you always use a taped canvas? - How does this step affect your final piece? A Different Perspective Some artists prefer to dive directly into the final canvas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Cardboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cardboard/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) ## Related quotes > [I used to hate doing color. I hated transparency film. 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If they're bored, kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/wallace-and-gromit-s-contraptions-are-created-purely-for-gags-but-we/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [If you could still see yourself living in a cardboard box with somebody with no money then that is love you know, it's what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perrie-edwards/if-you-could-still-see-yourself-living-in-a-cardboard-box-with/) [Perrie Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perrie-edwards/) > [I don't live for stuff and things, and if I had to live in a cardboard box, I would put curtains on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dell-orefice/i-don-t-live-for-stuff-and-things-and-if-i-had-to-live-in-a-cardboard/) [Carmen Dell'Orefice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dell-orefice/) > [Women should look like women. A piece of cardboard has no sexuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mcqueen/women-should-look-like-women-a-piece-of-cardboard-has-no-sexuality/) [Alexander McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mcqueen/) > [My first playpen was a cardboard box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee-chin/my-first-playpen-was-a-cardboard-box/) [Michael Lee-Chin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee-chin/) > [“Burgers. But not just any burger. Here, try this.” I’m expecting tin foil wrapped mounds to come out of the fancy bag, but instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-santos/burgers-but-not-just-any-burger-here-try-this-i-m-expecting-tin-foil/) Alyson Santos > [“Street people use cardboard all the time, and bum alleys are just shanties or lean-tos, though. They’re nothing like my house! Mine is deluxe!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/street-people-use-cardboard-all-the-time-and-bum-alleys-are-just/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [My study is a converted garage which is largely lined with bookshelves and cardboard boxes filled with manuscripts of my film scripts, plays and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/my-study-is-a-converted-garage-which-is-largely-lined-with/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [“Should I have a doughnut or my disgusting cardboard?” asked Gwynn, as she drew up languidly before me at a study table in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-amory/should-i-have-a-doughnut-or-my-disgusting-cardboard-asked-gwynn-as/) [Daniel Amory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-amory/) > [The most common way to identify a soldier is by the disc around his neck. But these were made of compressed cardboard and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-roberts/the-most-common-way-to-identify-a-soldier-is-by-the-disc-around-his/) Chris Roberts > [“It's neat how money smells nothing like anything in the world except money, just like cardboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/it-s-neat-how-money-smells-nothing-like-anything-in-the-world-except/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [where the dead walked and the living were made of cardboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/where-the-dead-walked-and-the-living-were-made-of-cardboard/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More by Mary Beth McKenzie > [Everything in painting is about relationship, so I judge each area by its relationship to the surrounding areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/everything-in-painting-is-about-relationship-so-i-judge-each-area-by/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [I always work directly from life, partly because I really enjoy having an interaction with the person in front of me but also because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/i-always-work-directly-from-life-partly-because-i-really-enjoy-having/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [Leaving some areas less finished in a painting, or more out of focus than others, allows the imagination to finish them and gives more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/leaving-some-areas-less-finished-in-a-painting-or-more-out-of-focus/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [Artists make things so much easier for themselves when they learn to trust their eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/artists-make-things-so-much-easier-for-themselves-when-they-learn-to/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [Nothing is more beautiful than a line that brings out a form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/nothing-is-more-beautiful-than-a-line-that-brings-out-a-form/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [Sometimes working on one painting will help solve a problem in another painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/sometimes-working-on-one-painting-will-help-solve-a-problem-in/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [Most beginners are too anxious for results. Real progress takes place over a long period of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/most-beginners-are-too-anxious-for-results-real-progress-takes-place/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [A painting has its own existence and reality, and I make changes freely to meet the painting's needs. This sometimes takes me in another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/a-painting-has-its-own-existence-and-reality-and-i-make-changes/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [You have to evolve as an artist, and this is really a lifelong process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/you-have-to-evolve-as-an-artist-and-this-is-really-a-lifelong-process/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) > [Cats sleep in a state of total abandon, and I find that state very interesting in people as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/cats-sleep-in-a-state-of-total-abandon-and-i-find-that-state-very/) [Mary Beth McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) [Explore all 11 Mary Beth McKenzie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/) ## More Canvas quotes > [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/the-bigger-the-canvas-the-better-i-do-i-m-not-so-good-at-understated/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-painter-should-begin-every-canvas-with-a-wash-of-black-because-all/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [What I did for my last act as a painter, if you call me a painter, was to photograph the weave of the canvas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-denes/what-i-did-for-my-last-act-as-a-painter-if-you-call-me-a-painter-was/) [Agnes Denes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-denes/) > [TV has no choice, but to rely on character, and everybody knows that. I love working in it. It's such a big canvas where,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/tv-has-no-choice-but-to-rely-on-character-and-everybody-knows-that-i/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [The white T-shirt is like a blank canvas - eternally versatile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-enninful/the-white-t-shirt-is-like-a-blank-canvas-eternally-versatile/) [Edward Enninful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-enninful/) > [Life is an empty canvas- We've to paint it every Moment of our life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-laren/life-is-an-empty-canvas-we-ve-to-paint-it-every-moment-of-our-life/) elvis laren > [The future turns out to be something that you make instead of find. It isn't waiting for your arrival, either with an arrest warrant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/the-future-turns-out-to-be-something-that-you-make-instead-of-find-it/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [Life's a canvas you're an artist, Paint a picture of a garden then go and marvel at the harvest you created from your conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-a-canvas-you-re-an-artist-paint-a-picture-of-a-garden-then-go/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Theres a blank canvas in front of you. You are the artist of your life, and you are free to paint any picture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishu/theres-a-blank-canvas-in-front-of-you-you-are-the-artist-of-your-life/) [Nishu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishu/) > [My training was that you fill in the canvas where it needs colour and polishing. You start with the words on the first night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-moody/my-training-was-that-you-fill-in-the-canvas-where-it-needs-colour-and/) [Ron Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-moody/) > [Great paintings have gradations, large and small... They serve to lift the subject off the two-dimensionality of the canvas. Gradations are an essential abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/great-paintings-have-gradations-large-and-small-they-serve-to-lift/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [The canvas upon which the artist paints is the spectator's mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/okakura-kakuzo/the-canvas-upon-which-the-artist-paints-is-the-spectator-s-mind/) [Okakura Kakuzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/okakura-kakuzo/) > [An empty canvas, apparently really empty, that says nothing and is without significance – almost dull, in fact – in reality, is crammed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/an-empty-canvas-apparently-really-empty-that-says-nothing-and-is/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Man offers himself to God. He stands before Him like the canvas before the painter or the marble before the sculptor. At the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-carrel/man-offers-himself-to-god-he-stands-before-him-like-the-canvas-before/) [Alexis Carrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-carrel/) [Browse all 796 Canvas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I usually start by doing one or more color studies of the subject on a piece of canvas taped to cardboard.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Beth McKenzie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-color-studies-of-the-subject-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Canvas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-color-studies-of-the-subject-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mary-beth-mckenzie-39967_canvas_i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-col_448627.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mary-beth-mckenzie-39967_canvas_i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-col_448627.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mary-beth-mckenzie-39967_canvas_i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-col_448627.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I usually start by doing one or more color studies of the subject on a piece of canvas taped to cardboard.” — Mary Beth McKenzie", "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": "Mary Beth McKenzie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-mckenzie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I usually start by doing one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-color-studies-of-the-subject-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-mckenzie/i-usually-start-by-doing-one-or-more-color-studies-of-the-subject-on/#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 } } ] } ```