--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Another thing that escapes me is HOW to…" description: "\"Another thing that escapes me is HOW to give substance to the forms. One day they look solid and 'real' and they seem to hinge upon each other and spli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/paula-rego-32940_artist_another-thing-that-escapes-me-is-how-to_2784980.png" --- # Another thing that escapes me is HOW to give substance to… ![“Another thing that escapes me is HOW to give substance to the forms. One day they look solid and 'real' and they seem to hinge upon each other and splinter and creak, fall with a thud to the bottom of the canvas and drag across the surface, and the next day they are like dust, all lightweight and…” quote by Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/paula-rego-32940_artist_another-thing-that-escapes-me-is-how-to_2784980.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/paula-rego-32940_artist_another-thing-that-escapes-me-is-how-to_2784980.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/paula-rego-32940_artist_another-thing-that-escapes-me-is-how-to_2784980.png) > “Another thing that escapes me is HOW to give substance to the forms. One day they look solid and 'real' and they seem to hinge upon each other and splinter and creak, fall with a thud to the bottom of the canvas and drag across the surface, and the next day they are like dust, all lightweight and just stuck there.” [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic forms can shift from solid to ethereal, reflecting the fluid nature of perception and creation. **In simple terms:** Art changes from solid to dust. Key Takeaway Embrace fluidity in creative process. Themes art perception fluidity creation Mood reflective analytical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - sculpture - design - creative brainstorming Key Concepts Aesthetics materiality Questions to Reflect On - How does material change affect meaning? - When do you need permanence in art? A Different Perspective Stability may be needed for certain projects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Dissatisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissatisfaction/) [Drag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drag/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hinges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hinges/) [Like Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-dust-998681/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-day/) [One day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-day/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Splinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splinter/) [Splinters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splinters/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Substance Forms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance-forms-3338075/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Thud Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thud-canvas-3338074/) ## Related quotes > [A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned cold. Only two people noticed. One was a witch, and she took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/a-boy-got-a-splinter-in-his-eye-and-his-heart-turned-cold-only-two/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-will-splinter-the-cia-into-a-thousand-pieces-and-scatter-it-into/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Peri loved her father's tales. She had grown up with them. Yet the melancholy with which they were infused pierced her soul, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/peri-loved-her-father-s-tales-she-had-grown-up-with-them-yet-the/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [I feel there's a funny little hole in me that wasn't there before, like a splinter in your finger, but this is somewhere above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/i-feel-there-s-a-funny-little-hole-in-me-that-wasn-t-there-before/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-splinter-in-your-eye-is-the-best-magnifying-glass-available/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you want to write, find your splinter. Find the thing that pierces you and won't let you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcdonald/if-you-want-to-write-find-your-splinter-find-the-thing-that-pierces/) [Megan McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcdonald/) > [How you die out in me: down to the last worn-out knot of breath you're there, with a splinter of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/how-you-die-out-in-me-down-to-the-last-worn-out-knot-of-breath-you-re/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [We are nothing but a string of gut on a stick of bone riding this piece of astral soot for one piteous splinter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/we-are-nothing-but-a-string-of-gut-on-a-stick-of-bone-riding-this/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [I care not how worldly you may be: there are times when all distinctions seem like dust, and when at the graves of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-g-mitchell/i-care-not-how-worldly-you-may-be-there-are-times-when-all/) [Donald G. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-g-mitchell/) > [“It's children, he thought, that give us our lives; without them we are nothing, we are here and then gone, like the dust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/it-s-children-he-thought-that-give-us-our-lives-without-them-we-are/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“She said, “What’s the downstairs look like?” “Dust,” Adam replied. He used his foot to discreetly move a pair of dirty jeans, boxers still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/she-said-what-s-the-downstairs-look-like-dust-adam-replied-he-used/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-come-spinning-out-of-nothingness-scattering-stars-like-dust/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [ All the higher life forms scythed away, just like that. \[ . . . \] Nothing but dust and fundamentalists. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/all-the-higher-life-forms-scythed-away-just-like-that-nothing-but/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The notebook smelled the way old books do, like dust and unrealized potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-flinn/the-notebook-smelled-the-way-old-books-do-like-dust-and-unrealized/) [Alex Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-flinn/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. "It's like dust. You walk about and don't see it, don't notice it, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/bits-of-it-floating-in-the-air-he-said-it-s-like-dust-you-walk-about/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## More by Paula Rego > [“If you put frightening things into a picture then they can't harm you. If fact, you end becoming quite fond of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/if-you-put-frightening-things-into-a-picture-then-they-can-t-harm-you/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [To find one's way anywhere one has to find one's door, just like Alice, you see. You take too much of one thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/to-find-one-s-way-anywhere-one-has-to-find-one-s-door-just-like-alice/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [Poetry is good for unleashing images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/poetry-is-good-for-unleashing-images/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [I'm not fashionable at all, and the fact that I manage to sell pictures without being fashionable is thanks to my gallery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/i-m-not-fashionable-at-all-and-the-fact-that-i-manage-to-sell/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [Art is the only place you can do what you like. That's freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/art-is-the-only-place-you-can-do-what-you-like-that-s-freedom/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [To be a dog woman is not necessarily to be downtrodden; that has very little to do with it. In these pictures every woman's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/to-be-a-dog-woman-is-not-necessarily-to-be-downtrodden-that-has-very/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [We interpret the world through stories... everybody makes in their own way sense of things, but if you have stories it helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/we-interpret-the-world-through-stories-everybody-makes-in-their-own/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [In collage you're doing it in stages so you're not actually doing it right there. You first of all draw it on the paper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/in-collage-you-re-doing-it-in-stages-so-you-re-not-actually-doing-it/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [I get inspiration from things that have nothing to do with painting: caricature, items from newspapers, sights in the street, proverbs, nursery-rhymes, children's games…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-painting/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [The gaps between the forms worry me. I can never get these spaces right...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/the-gaps-between-the-forms-worry-me-i-can-never-get-these-spaces-right/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [I thought the only way you can get into things is... through the basement... exactly where my studio was ... I could creep upstairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/i-thought-the-only-way-you-can-get-into-things-is-through-the/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [Sketches always have more vitality than paintings because you're finding things out through doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/sketches-always-have-more-vitality-than-paintings-because-you-re/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [Every change is a form of liberation. My mother used to say a change is always good even if it's for the worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/every-change-is-a-form-of-liberation-my-mother-used-to-say-a-change/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [That is why my pictures don't look like modern art. It's some sort of timidity on my part I'm sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/that-is-why-my-pictures-don-t-look-like-modern-art-it-s-some-sort-of/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) [Explore all 15 Paula Rego quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) ## 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": "Another thing that escapes me is HOW to give substance to the forms. 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