--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I get inspiration from things that have…" description: "\"I get inspiration from things that have nothing to do with painting: caricature, items from newspapers, sights in the street, proverbs, nursery-rhymes,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a7/paula-rego-32940_answers_i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have_1514162.jpg" --- # I get inspiration from things that have nothing to do with… ![“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 and songs, nightmares, desires, terrors. ... That question [why do you paint?] has been put to me before and my answer was, 'To…” quote by Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a7/paula-rego-32940_answers_i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have_1514162.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a7/paula-rego-32940_answers_i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have_1514162.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a7/paula-rego-32940_answers_i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have_1514162.jpg) > “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 and songs, nightmares, desires, terrors. ... That question \[why do you paint?\] has been put to me before and my answer was, 'To give terror a face.' But it's more than that. I paint because I can't help it.” [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. She draws from everyday and unsettling sources, turning terror into visual form. **In simple terms:** She paints from diverse, often dark, everyday influences. Key Takeaway Channel varied experiences into art. Themes inspiration darkness everyday life Mood thoughtful dark curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - art education - creative workshops - personal therapy Key Concepts psychoanalysis visual metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What everyday detail could become art? - How do you balance terror and beauty? A Different Perspective Risk of sensationalism over depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Caricatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caricatures/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Nursery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nursery/) [Nursery rhymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nursery-rhymes/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) ## Related quotes > [How I keep trying to force our story into a fairy tale, but from the beginning, it's been more like a nursery rhyme." "Bizarre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/how-i-keep-trying-to-force-our-story-into-a-fairy-tale-but-from-the/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [The nursery rhyme ends when a spider comes along and frightens Miss Muffet straight off her tuffet. I have wondered about what kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/the-nursery-rhyme-ends-when-a-spider-comes-along-and-frightens-miss/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [There are, of course, inherent tendencies to repetition in music itself. Our poetry, our ballads, our songs are full of repetition; nursery rhymes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/there-are-of-course-inherent-tendencies-to-repetition-in-music-itself/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [I like a very dark house, just black. I sit there and just think. Once I'm still and quiet inside, I'll begin. It's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-mcferrin/i-like-a-very-dark-house-just-black-i-sit-there-and-just-think-once-i/) [Bobby McFerrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-mcferrin/) > [Read to your children all of the time Novels and nursery rhymes Autobiographies, even the newspaper It doesn't mater; it's quality time Because once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-mali/read-to-your-children-all-of-the-time-novels-and-nursery-rhymes/) [Taylor Mali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-mali/) > [I like Fisher Price music, nursery rhymes, and the alphabet song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tre-cool/i-like-fisher-price-music-nursery-rhymes-and-the-alphabet-song/) [Tre Cool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tre-cool/) > [Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/experts-in-literacy-and-child-development-have-discovered-that-if/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [Yes, I know. Death sits with his key in my lock. Not one day is taken for granted. Even nursery rhymes have put me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/yes-i-know-death-sits-with-his-key-in-my-lock-not-one-day-is-taken/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Okay, this is a secret, but I think that nursery rhymes are the most relaxing and fun songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karisma-kapoor/okay-this-is-a-secret-but-i-think-that-nursery-rhymes-are-the-most/) [Karisma Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karisma-kapoor/) > [A nursery rhyme shapes your bones and nerves, and it shapes your mind. They are powerful, nursery rhymes, and immensely old, and not toys,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-catmull/a-nursery-rhyme-shapes-your-bones-and-nerves-and-it-shapes-your-mind/) [Katherine Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-catmull/) > [On the train: staring hypnotized at the blackness outside the window, feeling the incomparable rhythmic language of the wheels, clacking out nursery rhymes, summing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/on-the-train-staring-hypnotized-at-the-blackness-outside-the-window/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I don't know what started me, I just wrote poetry from the time was quite small. I guess I liked nursery rhymes and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-don-t-know-what-started-me-i-just-wrote-poetry-from-the-time-was/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I don't want to be a pop star. I want to be a nursery-rhyme star!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-pop-star-i-want-to-be-a-nursery-rhyme-star/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [There are two ways of dealing with nonsense in this world. One way is to put nonsense in the right place; as when people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-two-ways-of-dealing-with-nonsense-in-this-world-one-way-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seohyun's so pure that if Seohyun wasn't a singer, she'd still be singing nursery rhymes. Seohyun watches TV until 2am in the morning. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/choi-soo-young/seohyun-s-so-pure-that-if-seohyun-wasn-t-a-singer-she-d-still-be/) Choi Soo-young ## 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/) > [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/) > [Another thing that escapes me is HOW to give substance to the forms. One day they look solid and 'real' and they seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/another-thing-that-escapes-me-is-how-to-give-substance-to-the-forms/) [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 Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 and songs, nightmares, desires, terrors. ... That question [why do you paint?] has been put to me before and my answer was, 'To give terror a face.' But it's more than that. I paint because I can't help it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paula Rego" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-painting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-painting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a7/paula-rego-32940_answers_i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have_1514162.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a7/paula-rego-32940_answers_i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have_1514162.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a7/paula-rego-32940_answers_i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have_1514162.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I get inspiration from things that have nothing to do with painting: caricature, items from newspapers…” — Paula Rego", "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": "Paula Rego", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I get inspiration from things that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-painting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/i-get-inspiration-from-things-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-painting/#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 } } ] } ```