--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What really surprised me was how strange…" description: "\"What really surprised me was how strange my paintings are anyway. To me, it's like, \"Let's paint some portraits and some objects. Don't make it weird, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/nigel-cooke-39620_artist_what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange_2388682.jpg" --- # What really surprised me was how strange my paintings are… ![“What really surprised me was how strange my paintings are anyway. To me, it's like, "Let's paint some portraits and some objects. Don't make it weird, just make it dead straight," but it's still weird. I don't know why. I guess it's just the way I see things.” quote by Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/nigel-cooke-39620_artist_what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange_2388682.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/nigel-cooke-39620_artist_what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange_2388682.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/nigel-cooke-39620_artist_what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange_2388682.jpg) > “What really surprised me was how strange my paintings are anyway. To me, it's like, "Let's paint some portraits and some objects. Don't make it weird, just make it dead straight," but it's still weird. I don't know why. I guess it's just the way I see things.” [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic expression can feel paradoxical, aiming for realism while still appearing odd, reflecting personal perception. **In simple terms:** Strange art feels natural. Key Takeaway Embrace your vision. Themes creativity perception authenticity Mood reflective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting practice - gallery shows - personal projects Key Concepts art theory subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - Why does your style feel contradictory? - How can you balance precision with originality? A Different Perspective The desire for dead‑straightness may limit experimental growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) [Paintings Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings-like-234459/) [Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-paintings-5941560/) [Surprised Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised-strange-4151353/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Weird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weird/) ## Related quotes > [“What are you? From where did you come? I have never seen anything like you.” The Creator Raven looked at Man and was  ……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eskimo-creation-myth/what-are-you-from-where-did-you-come-i-have-never-seen-anything-like/) [Eskimo creation myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eskimo-creation-myth/) > [I'm trying to make paintings like giant musical chords, with a polyphony of colours that is nuts but works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-m-trying-to-make-paintings-like-giant-musical-chords-with-a/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [Modern paintings are like women, you'll never enjoy them if you try to understand them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/modern-paintings-are-like-women-you-ll-never-enjoy-them-if-you-try-to/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [Characters I've played, they used to impact my paintings, like 80 percent of the time, and especially when I was doing an action film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/characters-i-ve-played-they-used-to-impact-my-paintings-like-80/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [“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/) > [Paintings are not like the Internet. They're not like movies. They're not electronic-friendly. You have to go see them. You have to stand in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/paintings-are-not-like-the-internet-they-re-not-like-movies-they-re/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) > [“Paintings! They're like TV, but they don't move. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/paintings-they-re-like-tv-but-they-don-t-move/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not your paintings I like, it is your painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/it-is-not-your-paintings-i-like-it-is-your-painting/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [In a way, my paintings are like my children. They have many possibilities in life. You tell them, 'I believe that you're good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-bisky/in-a-way-my-paintings-are-like-my-children-they-have-many/) [Norbert Bisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-bisky/) > [“There is nothing to be found in human eyes, and that is their terrifying and dolorous enigma, their abominable and delusive charm. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/there-is-nothing-to-be-found-in-human-eyes-and-that-is-their/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [I have painted portraits that to me are almost photographic. I remember hesitating to show the paintings, they looked so real to me. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-have-painted-portraits-that-to-me-are-almost-photographic-i/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [The paintings are like prayers, relating to wishing for something beyond everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rothenberg/the-paintings-are-like-prayers-relating-to-wishing-for-something/) [Susan Rothenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rothenberg/) > [Paintings, like dreams, have a life of their own and I have always painted very much the way I dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonor-fini/paintings-like-dreams-have-a-life-of-their-own-and-i-have-always/) [Leonor Fini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonor-fini/) > [At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-of-the-great/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I feel like I have to avoid certain thrift store-isms, having been known for the thrift store paintings. It's like I have to not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shaw/i-feel-like-i-have-to-avoid-certain-thrift-store-isms-having-been/) [Jim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shaw/) ## More by Nigel Cooke > [I'm a quiet person, I'm not a flashy art world person. I'm in the studio in the middle of nowhere. There's sheep and fields.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/i-m-a-quiet-person-i-m-not-a-flashy-art-world-person-i-m-in-the/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [The paintings are kind of set in the past, present, and future all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/the-paintings-are-kind-of-set-in-the-past-present-and-future-all-at/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [Using painting as a metaphor for consciousness is what I'm interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/using-painting-as-a-metaphor-for-consciousness-is-what-i-m-interested/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [The paintings don't exist outside themselves. There's no lead photograph off the internet or anything like that. It all comes from my mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/the-paintings-don-t-exist-outside-themselves-there-s-no-lead/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [The moment is never perfect. It's like that right now - in my head I'm being super lucid, but you never are. You're always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/the-moment-is-never-perfect-it-s-like-that-right-now-in-my-head-i-m/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [There are certain times when a painting accelerates beyond you, and you have to try and understand and catch up with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/there-are-certain-times-when-a-painting-accelerates-beyond-you-and/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [Small thoughts grow into a picture. It may suggest an individual or it may suggest a place, but generally the painting's job is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/small-thoughts-grow-into-a-picture-it-may-suggest-an-individual-or-it/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [There are things that inform the works, but that doesn't go anywhere near what you're actually looking at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/there-are-things-that-inform-the-works-but-that-doesn-t-go-anywhere/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [I felt like I had reached the end of a period of life, where the work was jumping about and pushing something new every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/i-felt-like-i-had-reached-the-end-of-a-period-of-life-where-the-work/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [There are absences, but there are also presences. It's about how painting can evolve its own abstractions. I didn't know the painting was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/there-are-absences-but-there-are-also-presences-it-s-about-how/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) [Explore all 11 Nigel Cooke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) ## 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": "What really surprised me was how strange my paintings are anyway. To me, it's like, \"Let's paint some portraits and some objects. Don't make it weird, just make it dead straight,\" but it's still weird. I don't know why. I guess it's just the way I see things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nigel Cooke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange-my-paintings-are-anyway-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange-my-paintings-are-anyway-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/nigel-cooke-39620_artist_what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange_2388682.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/nigel-cooke-39620_artist_what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange_2388682.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/nigel-cooke-39620_artist_what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange_2388682.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What really surprised me was how strange my paintings are anyway. To me, it's like, \"Let's paint some…” — Nigel Cooke", "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": "Nigel Cooke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What really surprised me was how...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange-my-paintings-are-anyway-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/what-really-surprised-me-was-how-strange-my-paintings-are-anyway-to/#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 } } ] } ```