--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There comes a point when the paint…" description: "\"There comes a point when the paint doesn't feel like paint. I don't know why. Some mysterious thing happens. I think you have all experienced it... Wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/philip-guston-13611_crafts_there-comes-a-point-when-the-paint-doesn_2122930.jpg" --- # There comes a point when the paint doesn't feel like… ![“There comes a point when the paint doesn't feel like paint. I don't know why. Some mysterious thing happens. I think you have all experienced it... What counts is that the paint should really disappear, otherwise it's craft.” quote by Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/philip-guston-13611_crafts_there-comes-a-point-when-the-paint-doesn_2122930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/philip-guston-13611_crafts_there-comes-a-point-when-the-paint-doesn_2122930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/philip-guston-13611_crafts_there-comes-a-point-when-the-paint-doesn_2122930.jpg) > “There comes a point when the paint doesn't feel like paint. I don't know why. Some mysterious thing happens. I think you have all experienced it... What counts is that the paint should really disappear, otherwise it's craft.” [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist describes a point where paint loses its material quality, suggesting that true art should vanish into concept rather than remain craft. **In simple terms:** Art should become concept, not just material. Key Takeaway Make art disappear into idea. Themes art theory materiality conceptualism Mood introspective critical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery installations - abstract painting - art criticism Key Concepts aesthetics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does material affect meaning? - Can art be both craft and concept? A Different Perspective Viewers may miss the intended message. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear/) [Disappear Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear-craft-4338991/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Like Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-paint-1393814/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Mysterious things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious-things/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-doesn-481238/) [Paint Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-really-516860/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't drip Dorito's into cream colored paint. Doesn't work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-a-lombard/don-t-drip-dorito-s-into-cream-colored-paint-doesn-t-work/) [K.A. Lombard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-a-lombard/) > [I would say - and paint doesn't peel unless it's acrylic paint, so maybe it is acrylic paint that they're using, not oil paint.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-would-say-and-paint-doesn-t-peel-unless-it-s-acrylic-paint-so-maybe/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [In my experience, anyone can paint if he doesn't have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-lillie/in-my-experience-anyone-can-paint-if-he-doesn-t-have-to/) [Beatrice Lillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-lillie/) > [I should like to paint like an man who has never seen a painting, but this man -myself - lives in a museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/i-should-like-to-paint-like-an-man-who-has-never-seen-a-painting-but/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [If you don't think a film looks good then that is just a reflection of how bad the artist was that was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-stanton/if-you-don-t-think-a-film-looks-good-then-that-is-just-a-reflection/) [Andrew Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-stanton/) > [There are so many good ones to paint and if you paint as well as you really can and keep out of all other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-are-so-many-good-ones-to-paint-and-if-you-paint-as-well-as-you/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Paint what you really see, not what you think you ought to see; not the object isolated as in a test tube, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/paint-what-you-really-see-not-what-you-think-you-ought-to-see-not-the/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have a very strong passion to sing and paint. I'm really a student.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/i-have-a-very-strong-passion-to-sing-and-paint-i-m-really-a-student/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [The idea of taking a brand that already exists and making a really poor-looking version of it, with acrylic or puffy paint, is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunx/the-idea-of-taking-a-brand-that-already-exists-and-making-a-really/) [Hunx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunx/) > [A great painter can paint something really complex, but they can crystallize it into something really simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/a-great-painter-can-paint-something-really-complex-but-they-can/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I can draw really well. And I like to paint. I'm a bit of an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/i-can-draw-really-well-and-i-like-to-paint-i-m-a-bit-of-an-artist/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) > [My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me - and remembered feelings of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-mitchell/my-paintings-are-titled-after-they-are-finished-i-paint-from/) [Joan Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-mitchell/) > [“Paint,' I said, barely more than a breath. He cocked his head and I swallowed, squaring my shoulders. 'If- if it's not too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/paint-i-said-barely-more-than-a-breath-he-cocked-his-head-and-i/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [You can't just stick with one thing. You have to let your natural style come through, and paint what you naturally like to paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gonzales/you-can-t-just-stick-with-one-thing-you-have-to-let-your-natural/) [Mark Gonzales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gonzales/) > [I just wanna make the world a better-looking place. If you don't like it, you can paint over it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/i-just-wanna-make-the-world-a-better-looking-place-if-you-don-t-like/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) ## More by Philip Guston > [That's what I mean by something grips in a canvas. The moment that happens you are then sucked into the whole thing. Like some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/that-s-what-i-mean-by-something-grips-in-a-canvas-the-moment-that/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Then you learn about composition, you learn about old masters, you form certain ideas about structure. But the inhuman activity of trying to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/then-you-learn-about-composition-you-learn-about-old-masters-you-form/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [I go to the studio everyday because one day I may go and the Angel will be there. What if I don't go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/i-go-to-the-studio-everyday-because-one-day-i-may-go-and-the-angel/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Sometimes I scrape off a lot. You have on the floor, like cow dung in the field, this big glob of paint... and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/sometimes-i-scrape-off-a-lot-you-have-on-the-floor-like-cow-dung-in/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Painting seems like impossibility, with only a sign now and then of its own light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/painting-seems-like-impossibility-with-only-a-sign-now-and-then-of/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Many works of the past complete what they announce they are going to do, to our increasing boredom. Certain others plague me because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/many-works-of-the-past-complete-what-they-announce-they-are-going-to/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Probably the most potent desire for a painter, an image-maker, is to see it. To see what the mind can think and imagine, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/probably-the-most-potent-desire-for-a-painter-an-image-maker-is-to/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [No good to paint in the head - what happens is what happens when you put the paint down - you can only hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/no-good-to-paint-in-the-head-what-happens-is-what-happens-when-you/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [We are image-makers and image-ridden... We work until we vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/we-are-image-makers-and-image-ridden-we-work-until-we-vanish/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [The canvas you are working on modifies the previous ones in an unending, baffling chain which never seems to finish. What sympathy is demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/the-canvas-you-are-working-on-modifies-the-previous-ones-in-an/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [I do not see why the loss of faith in the known image and symbol in our time should be celebrated as a freedom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/i-do-not-see-why-the-loss-of-faith-in-the-known-image-and-symbol-in/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [The things I felt... about certain painters of the past that... inspired me, like Cezanne and Manet... that complete losing of oneself in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/the-things-i-felt-about-certain-painters-of-the-past-that-inspired-me/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [I am a night painter, so when I come into the studio the next morning the delirium is over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/i-am-a-night-painter-so-when-i-come-into-the-studio-the-next-morning/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Usually I am on a work for a long stretch, until a moment arrives when the air of the arbitrary vanishes, and the paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/usually-i-am-on-a-work-for-a-long-stretch-until-a-moment-arrives-when/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [All these troubles revolve around the irritable mutual dependence of life and art - with their need and contempt for one another. Of necessity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/all-these-troubles-revolve-around-the-irritable-mutual-dependence-of/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) [Explore all 49 Philip Guston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) ## 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": "There comes a point when the paint doesn't feel like paint. I don't know why. Some mysterious thing happens. I think you have all experienced it... 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