--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had been always about to paint a…" description: "\"“He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it.”\" — O. Henry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/o-henry-3281_artist_he-had-been-always-about-to-paint-a-mast_2286646.jpg" --- # He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had… ![“He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it.” quote by O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/o-henry-3281_artist_he-had-been-always-about-to-paint-a-mast_2286646.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/o-henry-3281_artist_he-had-been-always-about-to-paint-a-mast_2286646.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/o-henry-3281_artist_he-had-been-always-about-to-paint-a-mast_2286646.jpg) > ““He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it.”” [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The desire to create greatness is blocked by never starting the work. **In simple terms:** Greatness needs a start. Key Takeaway Begin the work you imagine. Themes creativity procrastination potential Mood motivational determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - writing - painting - project planning Key Concepts psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - What project have you delayed? - What scares you about starting? A Different Perspective Ideas remain dreams without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Masterpiece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masterpiece/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [Don't hire a master to paint you a masterpiece and then assign a roomful of schoolboy artists to look over his shoulder and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-townsend/don-t-hire-a-master-to-paint-you-a-masterpiece-and-then-assign-a/) [Robert Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-townsend/) > [The laws of physics is the canvas God laid down on which to paint his masterpiece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-laws-of-physics-is-the-canvas-god-laid-down-on-which-to-paint-his/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/a-man-can-be-an-artist-in-anything-food-whatever-it-depends-on-how/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [You have to be a little scared of what you're doing. Otherwise, you just paint the same masterpiece a little worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/you-have-to-be-a-little-scared-of-what-you-re-doing-otherwise-you/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [The laws of physics are the canvas God laid down on which to paint his masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-laws-of-physics-are-the-canvas-god-laid-down-on-which-to-paint/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Paint a masterpiece daily. Always autograph your work with excellence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-hickman/paint-a-masterpiece-daily-always-autograph-your-work-with-excellence/) Greg Hickman > [Bodybuilding is an art, your body is the canvas, weights are your brush and nutrition is your paint. We all have the ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-greene/bodybuilding-is-an-art-your-body-is-the-canvas-weights-are-your-brush/) [Kai Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-greene/) > [“It’s not enough to be the best. You also have to be seen by the most. A masterpiece painting hanging in the storage unit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/it-s-not-enough-to-be-the-best-you-also-have-to-be-seen-by-the-most-a/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [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/) > [If there is a conflict in your mind between what you know and what you are seeing, paint what you see because if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schmid/if-there-is-a-conflict-in-your-mind-between-what-you-know-and-what/) [Richard Schmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schmid/) > [If your life is full, you will paint full pictures. If it is empty, your pictures will be empty too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-dunn/if-your-life-is-full-you-will-paint-full-pictures-if-it-is-empty-your/) [Harvey Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-dunn/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [I used to want to be a writer or a painter, although I couldn't paint very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jisoo/i-used-to-want-to-be-a-writer-or-a-painter-although-i-couldn-t-paint/) [Jisoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jisoo/) > [“We were poor, but we were happy. We didn’t have much, but we were painting. (Interview in Washington Mag)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfredo-arreguin/we-were-poor-but-we-were-happy-we-didn-t-have-much-but-we-were/) Alfredo Arreguin > [I do Taekwondo and sometimes I paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-foy/i-do-taekwondo-and-sometimes-i-paint/) [Mackenzie Foy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-foy/) ## More by O. Henry > [He seemed to be made of sunshine and blood-red tissue and clear weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/he-seemed-to-be-made-of-sunshine-and-blood-red-tissue-and-clear/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [“It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/it-did-not-exactly-beggar-description-but-it-certainly-had-that-word/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Fortune is a prize to be won. Adventure is the road to it. Chance is what may lurk in the shadows at the roadside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/fortune-is-a-prize-to-be-won-adventure-is-the-road-to-it-chance-is/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/she-plucked-from-my-lapel-the-invisible-strand-of-lint-the-universal/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There is no well defined boundary line between honesty and dishonesty. The frontiers of one blend with the outside limits of the other, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-is-no-well-defined-boundary-line-between-honesty-and-dishonesty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [All great men have declared that they owe their sucess to the aid and encouragement of some brilliant woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/all-great-men-have-declared-that-they-owe-their-sucess-to-the-aid-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Those whom we first love we seldom marry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/those-whom-we-first-love-we-seldom-marry/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/young-artists-must-pave-their-way-to-art-by-drawing-pictures-for/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [A good story is like a bitter pill, with the sugar coating inside of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/a-good-story-is-like-a-bitter-pill-with-the-sugar-coating-inside-of-it/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lamp posts and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from-park-benches-lamp-posts-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There are stories in everything. I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts, and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-are-stories-in-everything-i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I never have time to read now. I did all my reading before I was twenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-never-have-time-to-read-now-i-did-all-my-reading-before-i-was-twenty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Bride knoweth bride at the glance of an eye. And between them swiftly passes comfort and meaning in a language that man and widows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/bride-knoweth-bride-at-the-glance-of-an-eye-and-between-them-swiftly/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [No friendship is an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/no-friendship-is-an-accident/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) [Explore all 135 O. Henry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## 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": "“He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "O. 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