--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I suppose I envy painters because they…" description: "\"I suppose I envy painters because they can meditate on form and structure, on color and light, and not concern themselves with human torment and chaos...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/may-sarton-897_artist_i-suppose-i-envy-painters-because-they-c_2633734.jpg" --- # I suppose I envy painters because they can meditate on… ![“I suppose I envy painters because they can meditate on form and structure, on color and light, and not concern themselves with human torment and chaos. It is restful even to imagine expression without words.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/may-sarton-897_artist_i-suppose-i-envy-painters-because-they-c_2633734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/may-sarton-897_artist_i-suppose-i-envy-painters-because-they-c_2633734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/may-sarton-897_artist_i-suppose-i-envy-painters-because-they-c_2633734.jpg) > “I suppose I envy painters because they can meditate on form and structure, on color and light, and not concern themselves with human torment and chaos. It is restful even to imagine expression without words.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer envies painters’ ability to focus on visual form, escaping human suffering through non‑verbal expression. **In simple terms:** Artists can find peace by focusing on visual creation rather than turmoil. Key Takeaway Seek creative outlets that allow non‑verbal processing of stress. Themes creativity escape art focus mindfulness Mood calm inspired Type reflective practical When to use this quote - art therapy - mindful drawing - studio practice - stress relief workshops Key Concepts visual art meditation non‑verbal expression Questions to Reflect On - How can non‑artists achieve similar mental relief? - What simple visual practices can anyone adopt? A Different Perspective Not everyone can access artistic skills or materials. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Envy Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy-painters-2210674/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Meditate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditate/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painters/) [Painters Meditate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painters-meditate-2210673/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Restful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restful/) [Restful Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restful-imagine-2210675/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torment/) ## Related quotes > [I sometimes think men don't 'hear' very well, if I take your meaning to be 'understand what is going on in a person.' That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-sometimes-think-men-don-t-hear-very-well-if-i-take-your-meaning-to/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [She became for me an island of light, fun, wisdom where I could run with my discoveries and torments and hopes at any time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/she-became-for-me-an-island-of-light-fun-wisdom-where-i-could-run/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Human beings generally need between six and eight hours of restful sleep each night. Restful sleep means that you're not using pharmaceuticals or alcohol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/human-beings-generally-need-between-six-and-eight-hours-of-restful/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [nothing is more restful than conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/nothing-is-more-restful-than-conformity/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [With all the infinite possibilities of spiritual life before you, do not settle down on a little patch of dusty ground at the mountain's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/with-all-the-infinite-possibilities-of-spiritual-life-before-you-do/) [J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/) > [A lack of restful sleep disrupts the body's innate balance, weakens our immune system, and speeds up the aging process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/a-lack-of-restful-sleep-disrupts-the-body-s-innate-balance-weakens/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [When we don't nourish ourselves with fresh, healthy food, restful sleep, regular exercise, a daily spiritual practice such as meditation or journaling, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/when-we-don-t-nourish-ourselves-with-fresh-healthy-food-restful-sleep/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The restful alertness response reverses the aging process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-restful-alertness-response-reverses-the-aging-process/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [You're not a restful individual to be around" Ashaya to Dorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/you-re-not-a-restful-individual-to-be-around-ashaya-to-dorian/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills. The Equator runs across these highlands, a hundred miles to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/i-had-a-farm-in-africa-at-the-foot-of-the-ngong-hills-the-equator/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [The most reliable joy is to be out of doors, to be a creature among other creatures. I find it very restful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/the-most-reliable-joy-is-to-be-out-of-doors-to-be-a-creature-among/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [Our prayer life will become restful when it really dawns upon us that we have done all we are supposed to do when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ole-hallesby/our-prayer-life-will-become-restful-when-it-really-dawns-upon-us-that/) [Ole Hallesby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ole-hallesby/) > [Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/flowers-are-restful-to-look-at-they-have-neither-emotions-nor/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [It is restful, tragedy, because one knows that there is no more lousy hope left. You know you're caught, caught at last like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anouilh/it-is-restful-tragedy-because-one-knows-that-there-is-no-more-lousy/) [Jean Anouilh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anouilh/) > [Greatness by nature includes a power, but not a will to power. ... The great man, whether we comprehend him in the most intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/greatness-by-nature-includes-a-power-but-not-a-will-to-power-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## 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": "I suppose I envy painters because they can meditate on form and structure, on color and light, and not concern themselves with human torment and chaos. 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