--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought, enough of this, I'm not an…" description: "\"I thought, enough of this, I'm not an abstract painter, what the hell am I going to do? Should I get a job in a shoe store, sell real estate, or what? ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/ralph-goings-108192_abstract_i-thought-enough-of-this-i-m-not-an-abst_2615780.png" --- # I thought, enough of this, I'm not an abstract painter… ![“I thought, enough of this, I'm not an abstract painter, what the hell am I going to do? Should I get a job in a shoe store, sell real estate, or what? I was really depressed by the whole thing, because I felt like a painter, yet I couldn't make paintings.” quote by Ralph Goings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/ralph-goings-108192_abstract_i-thought-enough-of-this-i-m-not-an-abst_2615780.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/ralph-goings-108192_abstract_i-thought-enough-of-this-i-m-not-an-abst_2615780.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/ralph-goings-108192_abstract_i-thought-enough-of-this-i-m-not-an-abst_2615780.png) > “I thought, enough of this, I'm not an abstract painter, what the hell am I going to do? Should I get a job in a shoe store, sell real estate, or what? I was really depressed by the whole thing, because I felt like a painter, yet I couldn't make paintings.” [Ralph Goings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-goings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning career path can cause depression; consider alternatives. **In simple terms:** Career doubts cause distress. Key Takeaway Explore new opportunities. Themes career identity depression Mood uncertain thoughtful Type abstract:0 enough:0 estates:0 felt:0 hell:0 jobs:0 painter:0 painting:0 real:0 real estate:0 sells:0 shoes:0 should:0 should i:0 stores:0 whole:0 painter couldn:0 like painter:0 abstract painter:0 make paintings:0 When to use this quote - employment decisions - mental health Key Concepts self‑reflection job market Questions to Reflect On - What aligns with your passions? - How can you transition safely? A Different Perspective Stagnation worsens unhappiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-painter-1141311/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Estates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estates/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Like Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-painter-506067/) [Make Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-paintings-1204352/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painter Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter-couldn-429510/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real estate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-estate/) [Sells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sells/) [Shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoes/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should i](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-i/) [Stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stores/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [I used to want to be a writer or a painter, although I couldn't paint very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jisoo/i-used-to-want-to-be-a-writer-or-a-painter-although-i-couldn-t-paint/) [Jisoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jisoo/) > [I tried to be a house painter, but I couldn't stand all that paint all over me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jones/i-tried-to-be-a-house-painter-but-i-couldn-t-stand-all-that-paint-all/) [George Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jones/) > [“He had been a boy who liked to draw, according to my friend, so he became an architect. Children who drew,I learned, became architects;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/he-had-been-a-boy-who-liked-to-draw-according-to-my-friend-so-he/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I'm an abstract painter not just for myself, but because I really believe in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-m-an-abstract-painter-not-just-for-myself-but-because-i-really/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I paint like an abstract painter everything is inside nothing is meant to be, I take tattoos off a people I take anything that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-shawn-alexander/i-paint-like-an-abstract-painter-everything-is-inside-nothing-is/) [Jason Shawn Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-shawn-alexander/) > [Whoever thought the immediate alternates with the immediate action is not an abstract painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-alechinsky/whoever-thought-the-immediate-alternates-with-the-immediate-action-is/) [Pierre Alechinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-alechinsky/) > [I wanted to be an abstract painter, but I was rotten at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-holzer/i-wanted-to-be-an-abstract-painter-but-i-was-rotten-at-it/) [Jenny Holzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-holzer/) > [I am biased towards the belief that every painter must be grounded in strong and faultless drawing skills, and until one has not experimented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guity-novin/i-am-biased-towards-the-belief-that-every-painter-must-be-grounded-in/) [Guity Novin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guity-novin/) > [I have friends come over and we read plays out loud and I make paintings and I just do things all the time just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-reed/i-have-friends-come-over-and-we-read-plays-out-loud-and-i-make/) [Nikki Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-reed/) > [A photo is like a map, a way of giving me a foot into a kind of reality I want... I'm not trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-doig/a-photo-is-like-a-map-a-way-of-giving-me-a-foot-into-a-kind-of/) [Peter Doig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-doig/) > [“Matisse never hoped to save lives. But he repeatedly said that he wanted to make paintings so serenely beautiful that when one came upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-scarry/matisse-never-hoped-to-save-lives-but-he-repeatedly-said-that-he/) [Elaine Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-scarry/) > [When I look back on the years of excessive self-doubt, I wonder how I was able to make my paintings. In part, I managed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-schapiro/when-i-look-back-on-the-years-of-excessive-self-doubt-i-wonder-how-i/) [Miriam Schapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-schapiro/) > [When I left the Royal College, I decided I would only make paintings that I would want to look at myself, that felt close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ofili/when-i-left-the-royal-college-i-decided-i-would-only-make-paintings/) [Chris Ofili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ofili/) > [I make paintings, try to get others to look at them and hopefully buy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-make-paintings-try-to-get-others-to-look-at-them-and-hopefully-buy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Painters make paintings, but it takes a representative of the art-world to make a work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wollheim/painters-make-paintings-but-it-takes-a-representative-of-the-art/) [Richard Wollheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wollheim/) ## More by Ralph Goings > [My paintings are about light, about the way things look in their environment and especially about how things look painted. Form, colour and space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-goings/my-paintings-are-about-light-about-the-way-things-look-in-their/) [Ralph Goings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-goings/) [Explore all 2 Ralph Goings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-goings/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I thought, enough of this, I'm not an abstract painter, what the hell am I going to do? Should I get a job in a shoe store, sell real estate, or what? 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