--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, comments about style always…" description: "\"You know, comments about style always seem strange to me - 'why do you work in this style, or in that style' - as if you had a choice in the matter... ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/philip-guston-13611_alive_you-know-comments-about-style-always-see_2101668.jpg" --- # You know, comments about style always seem strange to me… ![“You know, comments about style always seem strange to me - 'why do you work in this style, or in that style' - as if you had a choice in the matter... What you're doing is trying to stay alive and continue and not die.” quote by Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/philip-guston-13611_alive_you-know-comments-about-style-always-see_2101668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/philip-guston-13611_alive_you-know-comments-about-style-always-see_2101668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/philip-guston-13611_alive_you-know-comments-about-style-always-see_2101668.jpg) > “You know, comments about style always seem strange to me - 'why do you work in this style, or in that style' - as if you had a choice in the matter... What you're doing is trying to stay alive and continue and not die.” [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 quote highlights that artistic style is driven by survival and necessity rather than pure choice, emphasizing the pragmatic roots of creative decisions. **In simple terms:** Style is forced by need, not just preference. Key Takeaway Recognize the practical motives behind your work. Themes art survival creativity Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - artist statements - career pressures - creative blocks - market demands Key Concepts existentialism pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever choose a style for its own sake? - How does necessity shape your artistic identity? A Different Perspective It may overlook the role of personal preference and aesthetic exploration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Staying alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staying-alive/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [What work you do! It's strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/what-work-you-do-it-s-strange-work-for-a-christian-girl-to-hang-old/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [I believe less in my ability & more in the ability of the one who comes to meet me. That's the speciality of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/i-believe-less-in-my-ability-more-in-the-ability-of-the-one-who-comes/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [So there is a personal sense of style for a given work - I don't like a general style, but every work has its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karlheinz-stockhausen/so-there-is-a-personal-sense-of-style-for-a-given-work-i-don-t-like-a/) [Karlheinz Stockhausen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karlheinz-stockhausen/) > [There is really no practical help that one can offer; it is a matter of self-discovery, of one's own convictions, or working with one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/there-is-really-no-practical-help-that-one-can-offer-it-is-a-matter/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [I'm more interested in character. Character comes out of the work. Style is applied or imposed on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/i-m-more-interested-in-character-character-comes-out-of-the-work/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [Work is style, and there is style without thought; not in theory, only in fact. When I take a sentence in my hand, raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/work-is-style-and-there-is-style-without-thought-not-in-theory-only/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [“do,” he laughed humorlessly. His eyes were vibrant and there was no slur to his words. For once, he wasn’t drunk or high on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micalea-smeltzer/do-he-laughed-humorlessly-his-eyes-were-vibrant-and-there-was-no-slur/) [Micalea Smeltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micalea-smeltzer/) > [I am just working on staying alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-bruno/i-am-just-working-on-staying-alive/) [Frank Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-bruno/) > [I don't consider myself a great actress. I'm just trying to stay alive, actually. I think I'm good, and I've learned a lot, certainly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-great-actress-i-m-just-trying-to-stay-alive/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [The purpose of life is to stay alive. Watch any animal in nature--all it tries to do is stay alive. It doesn't care about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-stay-alive-watch-any-animal-in-nature-all/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“It was terribly risky, maybe even hopeless. But one or two properly armed, well-trained soldiers could hold off an undisciplined mob indefinitely. Shughart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/it-was-terribly-risky-maybe-even-hopeless-but-one-or-two-properly/) [Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/) > [Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/love-is-how-you-stay-alive-even-after-you-are-gone/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Many a man has decided to stay alive not because of the will to live but because of the determination not to give assorted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/many-a-man-has-decided-to-stay-alive-not-because-of-the-will-to-live/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“Sentience is not an end in itself. It is a means to the end of staying alive. Sentient beings use sensations of pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francione-gary-l/sentience-is-not-an-end-in-itself-it-is-a-means-to-the-end-of-staying/) [Francione, Gary L](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francione-gary-l/) > [Did he just say--?" "Yes," Claire said, smiling. "Yes, he did." "Whoa. Guess I'd better stay alive, then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/did-he-just-say-yes-claire-said-smiling-yes-he-did-whoa-guess-i-d/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) ## 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 Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You know, comments about style always seem strange to me - 'why do you work in this style, or in that style' - as if you had a choice in the matter... What you're doing is trying to stay alive and continue and not die.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Guston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/you-know-comments-about-style-always-seem-strange-to-me-why-do-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/you-know-comments-about-style-always-seem-strange-to-me-why-do-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/philip-guston-13611_alive_you-know-comments-about-style-always-see_2101668.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/philip-guston-13611_alive_you-know-comments-about-style-always-see_2101668.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/philip-guston-13611_alive_you-know-comments-about-style-always-see_2101668.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You know, comments about style always seem strange to me - 'why do you work in this style, or in that style'…” — Philip Guston", "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": "Philip Guston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You know, comments about style always...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/you-know-comments-about-style-always-seem-strange-to-me-why-do-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/you-know-comments-about-style-always-seem-strange-to-me-why-do-you/#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 } } ] } ```