--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know in advance what I am going…" description: "\"I don't know in advance what I am going to put on canvas any more than I decide beforehand what colours I am going to use.\" — Pablo Picasso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/pablo-picasso-552_canvas_i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going_1350145.jpg" --- # I don't know in advance what I am going to put on canvas… ![“I don't know in advance what I am going to put on canvas any more than I decide beforehand what colours I am going to use.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/pablo-picasso-552_canvas_i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going_1350145.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/pablo-picasso-552_canvas_i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going_1350145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/pablo-picasso-552_canvas_i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going_1350145.jpg) > “I don't know in advance what I am going to put on canvas any more than I decide beforehand what colours I am going to use.” [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. He embraces spontaneity, allowing the canvas to evolve without preset plans, reflecting a fluid creative process. **In simple terms:** No pre‑planned canvas decisions. Key Takeaway Trust the creative flow. Themes creativity spontaneity artistic process uncertainty expression Mood inspirational thoughtful Type art philosophy When to use this quote - painting sessions - art workshops - design brainstorming - creative problem solving Key Concepts improvisation intuition visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How does spontaneity affect artistic quality? - When is planning essential? A Different Perspective Lack of planning may lead to inefficiency or missed goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) ## Related quotes > [By having the big lines of the composition going out of the canvas, your imagination can wander beyond the edge. It will make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-webster-hawthorne/by-having-the-big-lines-of-the-composition-going-out-of-the-canvas/) [Charles Webster Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-webster-hawthorne/) > [I've spent so much of my life examining the smallest details. In some ways, it's where I feel most at home. For me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-collier/i-ve-spent-so-much-of-my-life-examining-the-smallest-details-in-some/) [Jacob Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-collier/) > [I never know what I'm going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I'm just the middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-max/i-never-know-what-i-m-going-to-put-on-the-canvas-the-canvas-paints/) [Peter Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-max/) > [My training was that you fill in the canvas where it needs colour and polishing. You start with the words on the first night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-moody/my-training-was-that-you-fill-in-the-canvas-where-it-needs-colour-and/) [Ron Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-moody/) > [Colour, as the strange and magnificent expression of the inscrutable spectrum of Eternity, is beautiful and important to me as a painter; I use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/colour-as-the-strange-and-magnificent-expression-of-the-inscrutable/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [If the image was sketched onto the canvas and spontaneously drawn, colour would often be restrained and unfree... The most important and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/if-the-image-was-sketched-onto-the-canvas-and-spontaneously-drawn/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Put a colour upon a canvas - it not only colours with that colour the part of the canvas to which the colour has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/put-a-colour-upon-a-canvas-it-not-only-colours-with-that-colour-the/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [As an artist, all I need is my paints and brushes - and someone to drag me away when the canvas is done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/as-an-artist-all-i-need-is-my-paints-and-brushes-and-someone-to-drag/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [While I am working I am not conscious of what I am putting on the canvas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/while-i-am-working-i-am-not-conscious-of-what-i-am-putting-on-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It's always necessary to seek for perfection. Obviously, for us, this word no longer has the same meaning. To me, it means: from one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-s-always-necessary-to-seek-for-perfection-obviously-for-us-this/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [In one way or another, I always marked my pictures. But there were times when I put my signature on the back of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/in-one-way-or-another-i-always-marked-my-pictures-but-there-were/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If I were to sign it now, I'd be committing forgery. I'd be putting my 1943 signature on a canvas painted in 1922.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-were-to-sign-it-now-i-d-be-committing-forgery-i-d-be-putting-my/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-painter-should-begin-every-canvas-with-a-wash-of-black-because-all/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/the-bigger-the-canvas-the-better-i-do-i-m-not-so-good-at-understated/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) ## 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/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/god-is-really-only-another-artist-he-invented-the-giraffe-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [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/) [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 don't know in advance what I am going to put on canvas any more than I decide beforehand what colours I am going to use.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Picasso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going-to-put-on-canvas-any-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going-to-put-on-canvas-any-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/pablo-picasso-552_canvas_i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going_1350145.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/pablo-picasso-552_canvas_i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going_1350145.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/pablo-picasso-552_canvas_i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going_1350145.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't know in advance what I am going to put on canvas any more than I decide beforehand what colours I am…” — Pablo Picasso", "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": "Pablo Picasso", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't know in advance what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going-to-put-on-canvas-any-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-don-t-know-in-advance-what-i-am-going-to-put-on-canvas-any-more/#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 } } ] } ```