--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a very dear friend, a great…" description: "\"I have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up very upset, the work wasn’t going well… He asked me to come to his studio -- which I did -- I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/morton-feldman-20186_artist_i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painte_2761399.jpg" --- # I have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up… ![“I have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up very upset, the work wasn’t going well… He asked me to come to his studio -- which I did -- I looked around at the work, dozens of sketches, drawings, large pictures, and I was very close to his work, intensely involved with his work, and he…” quote by Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/morton-feldman-20186_artist_i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painte_2761399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/morton-feldman-20186_artist_i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painte_2761399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/morton-feldman-20186_artist_i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painte_2761399.jpg) > “I have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up very upset, the work wasn’t going well… He asked me to come to his studio -- which I did -- I looked around at the work, dozens of sketches, drawings, large pictures, and I was very close to his work, intensely involved with his work, and he asked me, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I said, ‘Simple – it’s a loss of nerve.” [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identifies a creative block as loss of nerve, not lack of skill or ideas **In simple terms:** Creative block stems from fear, not talent Key Takeaway Regain confidence to overcome artistic paralysis Themes creativity confidence artistic block psychology Mood introspective supportive Type artistic psychological When to use this quote - studio visit - artistic collaboration - creative counseling - personal mentorship Key Concepts loss of nerve self‑doubt Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your creative fear? - How can you rebuild artistic confidence? A Different Perspective Fear may be misidentified as lack of ability ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Dear friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Nerves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerves/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [I don't work from drawings. I don't make sketches and drawings and color sketches into a final painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-don-t-work-from-drawings-i-don-t-make-sketches-and-drawings-and/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [ I used to think \[Shoji\] Hamada never drew, until there was a book by Bernard \[Leach\] published about his work \[Hamada: Potter, Tokyo; New… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/i-used-to-think-shoji-hamada-never-drew-until-there-was-a-book-by/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [The idea is this: It's important to upset one's work habits, to topple the cart for each project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/the-idea-is-this-it-s-important-to-upset-one-s-work-habits-to-topple/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [I think sometimes you're around people that are upset to be at work, and we're lucky we get to make movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-gordon/i-think-sometimes-you-re-around-people-that-are-upset-to-be-at-work/) [Molly Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-gordon/) > [A painting is nothing more than light reflected from the surface of a pigment-covered canvas. 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The difference between the homeless guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-burger/i-always-think-about-what-s-the-difference-between-being-tenacious/) [Neil Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-burger/) > [Michael Jordan didn’t become a great basketball player because he wanted to do product endorsements. Van Gogh didn’t become a great painter because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-d-schwager/michael-jordan-didn-t-become-a-great-basketball-player-because-he/) [Jack D. Schwager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-d-schwager/) > [No, I'm not a great painter. Neither am I a great poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/no-i-m-not-a-great-painter-neither-am-i-a-great-poet/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I don't consider myself as a great painter; I just feel that art is about expressing your emotions and expressing your feelings, and music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-azarenka/i-don-t-consider-myself-as-a-great-painter-i-just-feel-that-art-is/) [Victoria Azarenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-azarenka/) > [Whenever a great painter... does a work which appears to be false and lying, that falsity is very true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/whenever-a-great-painter-does-a-work-which-appears-to-be-false-and/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Technique is really personality. That is the reason why the artist cannot teach it, why the pupil cannot learn it, and why the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/technique-is-really-personality-that-is-the-reason-why-the-artist/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“A GREAT PAINTER will know a great deal about how he did it, but still he will say, “How did I do it?” The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/a-great-painter-will-know-a-great-deal-about-how-he-did-it-but-still/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) ## More by Morton Feldman > [The most interesting aspect for me, composing exclusively with patterns, is that there is not one organizational procedure more advantageous than another, perhaps because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/the-most-interesting-aspect-for-me-composing-exclusively-with/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Art in relation to life is nothing more than a glove turned inside out. It seems to have the same shapes and contours, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/art-in-relation-to-life-is-nothing-more-than-a-glove-turned-inside/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Since music has never had a Rembrandt, we have remained nothing more than musicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/since-music-has-never-had-a-rembrandt-we-have-remained-nothing-more/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Any professional knows that the flute and the piano is a boring combination. All you've got to arrive at is a kind of typical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/any-professional-knows-that-the-flute-and-the-piano-is-a-boring/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [For me it's the instrument. If I want to think of a flute and the state of the arts I hear a vibrato; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/for-me-it-s-the-instrument-if-i-want-to-think-of-a-flute-and-the/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [For years I said if I could only find a comfortable chair I would rival Mozart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/for-years-i-said-if-i-could-only-find-a-comfortable-chair-i-would/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [Most music is metaphor, but Wolff is not. I am not metaphor either. Parable, maybe. Cage is sermon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/most-music-is-metaphor-but-wolff-is-not-i-am-not-metaphor-either/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I'm not suspicious, I'm just careful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-m-not-suspicious-i-m-just-careful/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I want to give my compliments to Australia. Ever since your government paid a few million dollars for a Jackson Pollack painting, I figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-want-to-give-my-compliments-to-australia-ever-since-your-government/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I never feel that my music is sparse or minimalist; the way fat people never really think they're fat. I certainly don't consider myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-never-feel-that-my-music-is-sparse-or-minimalist-the-way-fat-people/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [If you think you might have secret information listening to me, you're lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/if-you-think-you-might-have-secret-information-listening-to-me-you-re/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [I've been living with the minor second all my life and I finally found a way to handle it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-ve-been-living-with-the-minor-second-all-my-life-and-i-finally/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [No one has the Houdini school of composition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/no-one-has-the-houdini-school-of-composition/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [The tragedy of music is that it begins with perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/the-tragedy-of-music-is-that-it-begins-with-perfection/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) > [It appears to me that the subject of music, from Machaut to Boulez, has always been its construction. Melodies of 12-tone rows just don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/it-appears-to-me-that-the-subject-of-music-from-machaut-to-boulez-has/) [Morton Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) [Explore all 31 Morton Feldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/) ## 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 > [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 have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up very upset, the work wasn’t going well… He asked me to come to his studio -- which I did -- I looked around at the work, dozens of sketches, drawings, large pictures, and I was very close to his work, intensely involved with his work, and he asked me, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I said, ‘Simple – it’s a loss of nerve.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Morton Feldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painter-called-me-up-very-upset-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painter-called-me-up-very-upset-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/morton-feldman-20186_artist_i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painte_2761399.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/morton-feldman-20186_artist_i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painte_2761399.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35f/morton-feldman-20186_artist_i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painte_2761399.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up very upset, the work wasn’t going well… He asked me…” — Morton Feldman", "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": "Morton Feldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-feldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have a very dear friend,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painter-called-me-up-very-upset-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-feldman/i-have-a-very-dear-friend-a-great-painter-called-me-up-very-upset-the/#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 } } ] } ```