---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each time I undertake to paint a picture…"
description: "\"Each time I undertake to paint a picture I have a sensation of leaping into space. I never know whether I shall fall on my feet. It is only later that ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/pablo-picasso-552_effects_each-time-i-undertake-to-paint-a-picture_1030724.jpg"
---

#  Each time I undertake to paint a picture I have a…

![“Each time I undertake to paint a picture I have a sensation of leaping into space. I never know whether I shall fall on my feet. It is only later that I begin to estimate more exactly the the effect of my work.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/pablo-picasso-552_effects_each-time-i-undertake-to-paint-a-picture_1030724.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/pablo-picasso-552_effects_each-time-i-undertake-to-paint-a-picture_1030724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/pablo-picasso-552_effects_each-time-i-undertake-to-paint-a-picture_1030724.jpg)

> “Each time I undertake to paint a picture I have a sensation of leaping into space. I never know whether I shall fall on my feet. It is only later that I begin to estimate more exactly the the effect of my work.”

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes the uncertainty and exhilaration of creating art, likening it to a leap into the unknown.

**In simple terms:** Art is a daring, uncertain leap.

Key Takeaway

Embrace risk in creative work.

Themes

creativity uncertainty exploration

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

artistic philosophical

When to use this quote

- studio work
- gallery openings
- personal projects

Key Concepts

artistic process risk taking

Questions to Reflect On

- What risks have you avoided?
- How does uncertainty fuel creativity?

A Different Perspective

Success is not guaranteed; fear of failure persists.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Emergence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emergence/) [Leaping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaping/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

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> [It's all right leaping about the stage when you're 20 but when you get to 25 it gets a bit embarrassing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-wyman/it-s-all-right-leaping-about-the-stage-when-you-re-20-but-when-you/)

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> [And I agreed the feeling of action as he was flying or jumping or leaping - a flowing cape would give it movement. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-shuster/and-i-agreed-the-feeling-of-action-as-he-was-flying-or-jumping-or/)

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> [Oh the wild joys of living! The leaping from rock to rock ... the cool silver shock of the plunge in a pool's living waters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/oh-the-wild-joys-of-living-the-leaping-from-rock-to-rock-the-cool/)

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> [Leaping away from my mistakes has propelled me forward. It has great force behind it. It makes for great storytelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-near/leaping-away-from-my-mistakes-has-propelled-me-forward-it-has-great/)

[Holly Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-near/)

> [If you are leaping a ravine, the moment of takeoff is a bad time for considering alternative strategies... Do it in the 'closed' mode.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/if-you-are-leaping-a-ravine-the-moment-of-takeoff-is-a-bad-time-for/)

[John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/)

> [And the back of his anorak was leaping up and down, and people were chucking money to him. I said 'Do you earn a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-cooper/and-the-back-of-his-anorak-was-leaping-up-and-down-and-people-were/)

[Tommy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-cooper/)

> [He was mostly leaping tall buildings in the beginning. There were cases where he would leap off a tall building or swoop down, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-shuster/he-was-mostly-leaping-tall-buildings-in-the-beginning-there-were/)

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> [Enthusiasm is the leaping lightning, not to be measured by the horse-power of the understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/enthusiasm-is-the-leaping-lightning-not-to-be-measured-by-the-horse/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [“...he will accompany us on a hike in the hills, leaping and whizzing back and forth, and coming when called as well as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/he-will-accompany-us-on-a-hike-in-the-hills-leaping-and-whizzing-back/)

[Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/)

> [“Falling in love is like leaping from a cliff. Your brain screams that it’s not a good idea and that hurt and pain will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-coulson/falling-in-love-is-like-leaping-from-a-cliff-your-brain-screams-that/)

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> [The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/the-beautiful-part-of-writing-is-that-you-don-t-have-to-get-it-right/)

[Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/)

> [“The recommended retirement plan is arabesque, then leap and smash on the seawall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-shapero/the-recommended-retirement-plan-is-arabesque-then-leap-and-smash-on/)

Natalie Shapero

> [Half of the failures in life come from pulling one's horse when he is leaping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/half-of-the-failures-in-life-come-from-pulling-one-s-horse-when-he-is/)

[Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/)

> [No matter how many times you've seen the movies and the TV shows that have a protagonist leaping in the path of a bullet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-hill/no-matter-how-many-times-you-ve-seen-the-movies-and-the-tv-shows-that/)

[Kyle Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-hill/)

## More by Pablo Picasso

> [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/)

> [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/one-never-knows-what-one-is-going-to-do-one-starts-a-painting-and/)

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> [Now there is fame! Of all - hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public - fame is by far the worst. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/now-there-is-fame-of-all-hunger-misery-the-incomprehension-by-the/)

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> [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/)

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> [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/)

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> [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/)

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> [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/)

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> [The earth doesn't have a housekeeper to do the dusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-earth-doesn-t-have-a-housekeeper-to-do-the-dusting/)

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> [A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-baby-will-make-love-stronger-days-shorter-nights-longer-bankroll/)

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[Explore all 477 Pablo Picasso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

## 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/)

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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/)

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[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/)

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> [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/)

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