--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You just don't know when you get all the…" description: "\"You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back after you've finished, you say, 'This one is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg" --- # You just don't know when you get all the paint across the… ![“You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back after you've finished, you say, 'This one is not so good. This one is good.'” quote by Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg) > “You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back after you've finished, you say, 'This one is not so good. This one is good.'” [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A work's final quality is uncertain until viewed from a distance, revealing its true merit. **In simple terms:** You can only judge a piece after stepping back. Key Takeaway Step back to evaluate. Themes art creativity assessment Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - painting - film editing - design critique - self‑review Key Concepts subjectivity perspective evaluation Questions to Reflect On - How does distance change your judgment? - What does stepping back reveal? A Different Perspective First impressions may mislead without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [I love putting paint on canvas, getting lost in the process of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simonon/i-love-putting-paint-on-canvas-getting-lost-in-the-process-of-painting/) [Paul Simonon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simonon/) > [I want to make beautiful paintings. But I don't make beautiful paintings by putting beautiful paint on a canvas with a beautiful motif. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-oehlen/i-want-to-make-beautiful-paintings-but-i-don-t-make-beautiful/) Albert Oehlen > [“Paint the canvas of your dreams with the blood of your sweat. You are the Picasso of your own life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuwan-thapaliya/paint-the-canvas-of-your-dreams-with-the-blood-of-your-sweat-you-are/) [Bhuwan Thapaliya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuwan-thapaliya/) > [Sometimes, in a portrait, I go straight in with paint onto canvas... Other than riding my bike up and down the hills around here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cobley/sometimes-in-a-portrait-i-go-straight-in-with-paint-onto-canvas-other/) [David Cobley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cobley/) > [I constantly modify myself. There are downfalls to that because you are constantly trying to figure out who you are, but at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-zhao/i-constantly-modify-myself-there-are-downfalls-to-that-because-you/) [Chloe Zhao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-zhao/) > [It's not just a boring exercise in pushing oil paint around a canvas. It's a way of opening a threshold to an exciting new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-shanks/it-s-not-just-a-boring-exercise-in-pushing-oil-paint-around-a-canvas/) [Nelson Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-shanks/) > [“Your mind is the canvas upon which you are the artist. What will you paint on your canvas today? Will you draw a stick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-murphy/your-mind-is-the-canvas-upon-which-you-are-the-artist-what-will-you/) [James A. Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-murphy/) > [It is the custom of Venice to paint on canvas, either because it does not split and is not worm-eaten, or because pictures can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-vasari/it-is-the-custom-of-venice-to-paint-on-canvas-either-because-it-does/) [Giorgio Vasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-vasari/) > [I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [It's such an extraordinary supple medium that you never do quite know what paint will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium-that-you-never-do-quite-know/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I did not know how to paint or even what to paint, but I knew I had to begin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what-to-paint-but-i-knew-i-had-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from the Renaissance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-did-not-know-how-to-prepare-the/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the same place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well-you-need-to-look-at-it-every/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [When I first painted a number of canvases grey all over (about eight years ago), I did so because I did not know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvases-grey-all-over-about-eight/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right facts. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-way-you-live-that-predisposes/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) ## More by Ridley Scott > [The word 'comedy' implies slapstick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/the-word-comedy-implies-slapstick/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [It's hard writing screenplays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/it-s-hard-writing-screenplays/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [I'll reshoot a corridor 13 different ways, and you'll never recognise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-ll-reshoot-a-corridor-13-different-ways-and-you-ll-never-recognise/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [I unfortunately do suffer for my art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-unfortunately-do-suffer-for-my-art/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [As soon as you're at the higher levels of budgeting, you've got to get the film made, and the only way to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/as-soon-as-you-re-at-the-higher-levels-of-budgeting-you-ve-got-to-get/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Your landscape in a western is one of the most important characters the film has. The best westerns are about man against his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/your-landscape-in-a-western-is-one-of-the-most-important-characters/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [There's still a lot of investors wondering what to invest in. And, of course, I think entertainment looks attractive when you read the few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/there-s-still-a-lot-of-investors-wondering-what-to-invest-in-and-of/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [When you're at a certain point in your time - age, that is, when you're older - you start to realize that, actually, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/when-you-re-at-a-certain-point-in-your-time-age-that-is-when-you-re/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [There's a little thing on your shoulder called intuition and it whispers in your ear. Everyone has that, there is a voice telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/there-s-a-little-thing-on-your-shoulder-called-intuition-and-it/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [I always shoot my movies with score as certainly part of the dialogue. Music is dialogue. People don't think about it that way, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-always-shoot-my-movies-with-score-as-certainly-part-of-the-dialogue/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Are we the first hominids? I really, really, really doubt it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/are-we-the-first-hominids-i-really-really-really-doubt-it/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [That's a heavy word, but picking up a newspaper every day, how can you not despair at what's happening in the world, and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/that-s-a-heavy-word-but-picking-up-a-newspaper-every-day-how-can-you/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [I do like to make films with a political theme, but sometimes it's nice simply to make people laugh. That's the hardest thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-do-like-to-make-films-with-a-political-theme-but-sometimes-it-s/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Business fascinates me. It's very creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/business-fascinates-me-it-s-very-creative/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) [Explore all 223 Ridley Scott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) ## More Across quotes > [I realized I couldn't be a journalist because I like to take a side, to have an opinion and a point a view; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/i-realized-i-couldn-t-be-a-journalist-because-i-like-to-take-a-side/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [Many of us believe that we need health care reform. That being said - Americans felt like they weren't being listened to. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-of-us-believe-that-we-need-health-care-reform-that-being-said/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What happens is this sort of bleed-over from the tabloids across your movie work. You go to a movie, you only go once. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/what-happens-is-this-sort-of-bleed-over-from-the-tabloids-across-your/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [I've never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I've given talks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wildsmith/i-ve-never-been-invited-to-do-an-exhibition-or-do-a-talk-in-england/) [Brian Wildsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wildsmith/) > [Realizing that they can't get their agenda across: against religious liberty, against a culture of life, they can't get those issues across through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-parsley/realizing-that-they-can-t-get-their-agenda-across-against-religious/) [Rod Parsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-parsley/) > [I think if you look all across the country, the so-called Blue Dogs are all gone to kennel. There are no more Blue Dogs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-if-you-look-all-across-the-country-the-so-called-blue-dogs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I look forward to the day that a lot of the folks that you all talk about and cover on this network will begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-forward-to-the-day-that-a-lot-of-the-folks-that-you-all-talk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't know how 'X Factor' works. I was only there as a guest judge for a day. But I watched 'The Voice' a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-don-t-know-how-x-factor-works-i-was-only-there-as-a-guest-judge-for/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [I'm liking the Bundesliga. There's a lot of top, top defenders that you come across.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reiss-nelson/i-m-liking-the-bundesliga-there-s-a-lot-of-top-top-defenders-that-you/) [Reiss Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reiss-nelson/) > [In my district, I have a very clear mandate to work across the aisle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-slotkin/in-my-district-i-have-a-very-clear-mandate-to-work-across-the-aisle/) [Elissa Slotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-slotkin/) > [Mahindra's brand strategy is about niches across areas of mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-mahindra/mahindra-s-brand-strategy-is-about-niches-across-areas-of-mobility/) [Anand Mahindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-mahindra/) > [When I was in Greenough, Montana, I came across a bear cub. I was off this path, and I thought, If there's a bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-roker/when-i-was-in-greenough-montana-i-came-across-a-bear-cub-i-was-off/) [Al Roker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-roker/) > [Extreme weather threatens our energy and electric grid, federal buildings, transportation infrastructure, access to natural resources, public health, our relationships across the globe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cartwright/extreme-weather-threatens-our-energy-and-electric-grid-federal/) [Matt Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cartwright/) > [We have a workforce crisis across the NHS with around 100,000 vacancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sajid-javid/we-have-a-workforce-crisis-across-the-nhs-with-around-100-000/) [Sajid Javid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sajid-javid/) > [It's time for all of us to unite across the state of Washington to build a working Washington. Let's get to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-inslee/it-s-time-for-all-of-us-to-unite-across-the-state-of-washington-to/) [Jay Inslee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-inslee/) Browse all 722 Across quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back after you've finished, you say, 'This one is not so good. This one is good.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ridley Scott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the-paint-across-the-canvas-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Across" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the-paint-across-the-canvas-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aff/ridley-scott-1610_across_you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the_455467.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back…” — Ridley Scott", "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": "Ridley Scott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You just don't know when you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the-paint-across-the-canvas-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the-paint-across-the-canvas-how/#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 } } ] } ```