--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Abstract' literally means to draw from…" description: "\"'Abstract' literally means to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract... a realistic or nonobjective approach makes no difference..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/richard-diebenkorn-18615_abstract_abstract-literally-means-to-draw-from-or_1516745.png" --- # 'Abstract' literally means to draw from or separate. In… ![“'Abstract' literally means to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract... a realistic or nonobjective approach makes no difference. The result is what counts.” quote by Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/richard-diebenkorn-18615_abstract_abstract-literally-means-to-draw-from-or_1516745.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/richard-diebenkorn-18615_abstract_abstract-literally-means-to-draw-from-or_1516745.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/richard-diebenkorn-18615_abstract_abstract-literally-means-to-draw-from-or_1516745.png) > “'Abstract' literally means to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract... a realistic or nonobjective approach makes no difference. The result is what counts.” [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abstraction and realism are indistinguishable; the artwork’s value lies in its result. **In simple terms:** Result matters more than style. Key Takeaway Focus on the impact of your creation. Themes art creativity perception Mood contemplative analytical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - Design projects - painting - digital media Key Concepts Aesthetics conceptual art Questions to Reflect On - What does your work convey? - How does style affect meaning? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on result can neglect process learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract Literally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-literally-5596711/) [Abstract Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-realistic-4284506/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-abstract-2648272/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Draw Separate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw-separate-5596713/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-draw-5596712/) [Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) ## Related quotes > [All paintings start out of a mood, out of a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression. To call this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/all-paintings-start-out-of-a-mood-out-of-a-relationship-with-things/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract for he must create his own work from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/abstract-means-literally-to-draw-from-or-separate-in-this-sense-every/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [They are imbeciles who call my work abstract. That which they call abstract is the most realistic, because what is real is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantin-brancusi/they-are-imbeciles-who-call-my-work-abstract-that-which-they-call/) [Constantin Brancusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantin-brancusi/) > [...That which they call abstract is the most realistic, because what is real is not the exterior but the idea, the essence of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantin-brancusi/that-which-they-call-abstract-is-the-most-realistic-because-what-is/) [Constantin Brancusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantin-brancusi/) > [“Missing: A teenaged girl with lanky, blonde hair and a sunburst tattoo on her cheek. The holographic posters, brighter than day itself, lit up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-l-bernstein/missing-a-teenaged-girl-with-lanky-blonde-hair-and-a-sunburst-tattoo/) [Amy L. 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Stuff grown-ups want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macaulay-culkin/oh-wow-you-know-what-s-wrong-with-all-these-families-on-tv-all-these/) [Macaulay Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macaulay-culkin/) > [Every artist obviously wants to sell a million records and do the MTV cribs thing, but I'm realistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-era/every-artist-obviously-wants-to-sell-a-million-records-and-do-the-mtv/) [JD Era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-era/) > [Nobody thought that I could become a professional. I was not that good. It was really just one thing I had fun doing. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mats-hummels/nobody-thought-that-i-could-become-a-professional-i-was-not-that-good/) [Mats Hummels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mats-hummels/) > [The less obvious hurdle is that of preparing parents emotionally and putting forward realistic images of parenthood and motherhood. There also needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/the-less-obvious-hurdle-is-that-of-preparing-parents-emotionally-and/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [Since I started playing, really, since I was like three. I imagined myself famous but the vision was blurry, I guess. What you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-angelo/since-i-started-playing-really-since-i-was-like-three-i-imagined/) [D'Angelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-angelo/) > [One day, if I had to do a horror movie, it will be a very realistic war movie. For me, war is horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/one-day-if-i-had-to-do-a-horror-movie-it-will-be-a-very-realistic-war/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) ## More by Richard Diebenkorn > [I trust the symbol that is arrived at in the making of the painting. Meaningful symbols aren't invented as such, they are made or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/i-trust-the-symbol-that-is-arrived-at-in-the-making-of-the-painting/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract for he must create his own work from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/abstract-means-literally-to-draw-from-or-separate-in-this-sense-every/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [I don't go into the studio with the idea of 'saying' something. What I do is face the blank canvas and put a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/i-don-t-go-into-the-studio-with-the-idea-of-saying-something-what-i/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [And I can just see that sometimes the technique is blasting powder rather than steady struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/and-i-can-just-see-that-sometimes-the-technique-is-blasting-powder/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [I want painting to be difficult to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/i-want-painting-to-be-difficult-to-do/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [All paintings start out of a mood, out of a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression. To call this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/all-paintings-start-out-of-a-mood-out-of-a-relationship-with-things/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [In a successful painting everything is integral - all the parts belong to the whole. If you remove an aspect or element you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/in-a-successful-painting-everything-is-integral-all-the-parts-belong/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [One wants to see the artifice of the thing as well as the subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/one-wants-to-see-the-artifice-of-the-thing-as-well-as-the-subject/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [I would like the colors, their shapes and positions to be arrived at in response to and dictated by the condition of the total…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/i-would-like-the-colors-their-shapes-and-positions-to-be-arrived-at/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [With rare exceptions, I respond most to painting that cuts across grain rather than following it. I think the artist here can get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/with-rare-exceptions-i-respond-most-to-painting-that-cuts-across/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Somehow don't be bored, but if you must, use it in action. Use its destructive potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/somehow-don-t-be-bored-but-if-you-must-use-it-in-action-use-its/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [I want a painting to be difficult to do. The more obstacles, obstructions, problems - if they don't overwhelm - the better. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/i-want-a-painting-to-be-difficult-to-do-the-more-obstacles/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Mistakes can't be erased, but they move you from your present position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/mistakes-can-t-be-erased-but-they-move-you-from-your-present-position/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Use and respond to the initial fresh qualities but consider them absolutely expendable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/use-and-respond-to-the-initial-fresh-qualities-but-consider-them/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [My father didn't think being an artist was a respectable or worthy goal for a man. He hoped I would see my way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/my-father-didn-t-think-being-an-artist-was-a-respectable-or-worthy/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) [Explore all 34 Richard Diebenkorn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) ## 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": "'Abstract' literally means to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract... a realistic or nonobjective approach makes no difference. 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