--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had grown up under the heroic spell of…" description: "\"“I had grown up under the heroic spell of the Abstract Expressionist painters,”\" — Pete Hamill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/pete-hamill-11832_painting_i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of_980082.jpg" --- # I had grown up under the heroic spell of the Abstract… ![“I had grown up under the heroic spell of the Abstract Expressionist painters,” quote by Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/pete-hamill-11832_painting_i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of_980082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/pete-hamill-11832_painting_i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of_980082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/pete-hamill-11832_painting_i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of_980082.jpg) > ““I had grown up under the heroic spell of the Abstract Expressionist painters,”” [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on being influenced by abstract expressionist painters, shaping his worldview. **In simple terms:** His upbringing was colored by abstract art. Key Takeaway Recognize artistic influences on perception. Themes art influence memory identity Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - visual arts - writing - education - personal growth Key Concepts abstract expressionism creative inspiration cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - How does visual art affect your thinking? - Can you apply artistic lessons elsewhere? A Different Perspective Artistic influence may not translate directly to other fields. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painters/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [I was not an Abstract Expressionist. Nor was I an Irascible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hedda-sterne/i-was-not-an-abstract-expressionist-nor-was-i-an-irascible/) [Hedda Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hedda-sterne/) > [“I’d paint with a beard if I could grow out of my abstract expressionist phase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-d-paint-with-a-beard-if-i-could-grow-out-of-my-abstract/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I was an abstract expressionist before I had seen any abstract expressionist paintings. I started when I was a kid and continued just doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-was-an-abstract-expressionist-before-i-had-seen-any-abstract/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [You have to have the time to feel sorry for yourself in order to be a good abstract expressionist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/you-have-to-have-the-time-to-feel-sorry-for-yourself-in-order-to-be-a/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [“How can U say one style is better than another. You ought to be able to be an Abstract Expressionist next week, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/legs-mcneil/how-can-u-say-one-style-is-better-than-another-you-ought-to-be-able/) [Legs McNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/legs-mcneil/) > [Yes, I did, I mean I painted er, in a kind of abstract expressionist way, because of course that was exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/yes-i-did-i-mean-i-painted-er-in-a-kind-of-abstract-expressionist-way/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [After being an Impressionist, Cubist, and an Abstract Expressionist, I was influenced by realistic artists, including Andrew Wyeth in the late '50s, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bateman/after-being-an-impressionist-cubist-and-an-abstract-expressionist-i/) [Robert Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bateman/) > [There's art on the show that's really bad - these cliché Abstract Expressionist gestural things. It's almost like extensions of my performance, because in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/there-s-art-on-the-show-that-s-really-bad-these-clich-abstract/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rather-than-a-photograph/) [Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/) > [I'm not an Expressionist. I love to look at de Kooning, but I've got this kind of secret life, and that is something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-m-not-an-expressionist-i-love-to-look-at-de-kooning-but-i-ve-got/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [“Where the realist would say, "One day Gregor Samsa woke up to the realization that he was like a cockroach," the expressionist heightens or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/where-the-realist-would-say-one-day-gregor-samsa-woke-up-to-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist. You can call me an American first... I've been labeled doing neimanism, so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-don-t-know-if-i-m-an-impressionist-or-an-expressionist-you-can-call/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I'm not an Abstraction Expressionist, but I think dedication to paintings comes from an early interest in that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/i-m-not-an-abstraction-expressionist-but-i-think-dedication-to/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I would describe my work as expressionist. The expressionist point of view is stressing your own feelings about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-lawrence/i-would-describe-my-work-as-expressionist-the-expressionist-point-of/) [Jacob Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-lawrence/) > [I had always loved expressionist painting, like every European. In fact I admired it all the more because these were precisely the paintings despised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-had-always-loved-expressionist-painting-like-every-european-in-fact/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) ## More by Pete Hamill > [“The great novel of twentieth-century New York might be the Daily News.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/the-great-novel-of-twentieth-century-new-york-might-be-the-daily-news/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [Don't tell me about the world. Not today. It's springtime and they're knocking baseball around fields where the grass is damp and green in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/don-t-tell-me-about-the-world-not-today-it-s-springtime-and-they-re/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [“A half-century later, Mark Twain would say that the gold rush drastically changed the American character, ending the tradition of patient apprenticeships, the gradual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/a-half-century-later-mark-twain-would-say-that-the-gold-rush/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [“He looked at her for a long moment, as if remembering unfinished conversations, and then went back to place some damp, slow-burning turf on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/he-looked-at-her-for-a-long-moment-as-if-remembering-unfinished/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [More than anything, it's a game of innocence. Politicians may come and go, but they always get booed at the ballpark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/more-than-anything-it-s-a-game-of-innocence-politicians-may-come-and/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [Human beings want to know too much abut each other, and that's why there are so many lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/human-beings-want-to-know-too-much-abut-each-other-and-that-s-why/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [“ "The wanderer in Manhattan must go forth with a certain innocence, because New York is best seen with innocent eyes. It doesn't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/the-wanderer-in-manhattan-must-go-forth-with-a-certain-innocence/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [There is something elegantly sinister about the Rolling Stones. They sit before you at a press conference like five unfolding switchblades; their faces set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/there-is-something-elegantly-sinister-about-the-rolling-stones-they/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [The library is a place where most of the things I came to value as an adult had their beginnings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/the-library-is-a-place-where-most-of-the-things-i-came-to-value-as-an/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [Frank Sinatra was the voice of the 20th-century American city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/frank-sinatra-was-the-voice-of-the-20th-century-american-city/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [This is truly marvelous work full of mystery, nostalgia, joy, The Color of Whimsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/this-is-truly-marvelous-work-full-of-mystery-nostalgia-joy-the-color/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [“In Mexico, I first encountered the attitude that was missing from the optimistic sense of living in the United States: a tragic sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/in-mexico-i-first-encountered-the-attitude-that-was-missing-from-the/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [“The world was a grand confusion. Finally, when I was drunk, and my mind couldn’t do what I wanted it to do, I went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/the-world-was-a-grand-confusion-finally-when-i-was-drunk-and-my-mind/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [There is a growing feeling that perhaps Texas is really another country, a place where the skies, the disasters, the diamonds, the politicians, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/there-is-a-growing-feeling-that-perhaps-texas-is-really-another/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [They all laughed. I drew their pictures and they asked for copies and I handed them out as if they were my tickets to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/they-all-laughed-i-drew-their-pictures-and-they-asked-for-copies-and/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) [Explore all 57 Pete Hamill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) ## 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 had grown up under the heroic spell of the Abstract Expressionist painters,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Hamill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of-the-abstract-expressionist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of-the-abstract-expressionist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/pete-hamill-11832_painting_i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of_980082.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/pete-hamill-11832_painting_i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of_980082.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/pete-hamill-11832_painting_i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of_980082.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had grown up under the heroic spell of the Abstract Expressionist painters,” — Pete Hamill", "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": "Pete Hamill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I had grown up under the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of-the-abstract-expressionist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of-the-abstract-expressionist/#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 } } ] } ```