--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An opening and a receptiveness to design…" description: "\"An opening and a receptiveness to design and pattern for its own sake seems to free the painting hand.\" — Robert Genn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-genn-2179_artist_an-opening-and-a-receptiveness-to-design_1239200.png" --- # An opening and a receptiveness to design and pattern for… ![“An opening and a receptiveness to design and pattern for its own sake seems to free the painting hand.” quote by Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-genn-2179_artist_an-opening-and-a-receptiveness-to-design_1239200.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-genn-2179_artist_an-opening-and-a-receptiveness-to-design_1239200.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-genn-2179_artist_an-opening-and-a-receptiveness-to-design_1239200.png) > “An opening and a receptiveness to design and pattern for its own sake seems to free the painting hand.” [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) ## 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 suggests that approaching painting with openness and a focus on design for its own sake liberates the artist’s hand, fostering creativity. **In simple terms:** Being open to design frees artistic expression. Key Takeaway Embrace design without constraints to unlock creativity. Themes art creativity design Mood inspirational reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - painting workshops - art education - personal art practice - studio sessions Key Concepts aesthetic freedom creative process visual art Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance design with emotional content? - When does design become a constraint? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on design may hinder emotional expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) ## Related quotes > [“When we talk today about receptiveness to stories, we tend to contrast that attitude to one governed by reason - we talk about freeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/when-we-talk-today-about-receptiveness-to-stories-we-tend-to-contrast/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“To many among us neither heaven nor earth has any revelation till some personality touches theirs with a particular influence, subduing them into receptiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/to-many-among-us-neither-heaven-nor-earth-has-any-revelation-till/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Receptiveness is a rare and massive power, like fortitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/receptiveness-is-a-rare-and-massive-power-like-fortitude/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Creativity is a matter of receptiveness and recognition. 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Lewis > [I don't really comment on my personal life because I feel like any comment at all is opening up a whole can of worms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hartnett/i-don-t-really-comment-on-my-personal-life-because-i-feel-like-any/) [Josh Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hartnett/) > [In opening we can see how many times we have mistaken small identities and fearful beliefs for our true nature and how limiting this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/in-opening-we-can-see-how-many-times-we-have-mistaken-small/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Of course it does on opening night, but I've never had that devastating stage fright that some people get, but apparently, you can develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/of-course-it-does-on-opening-night-but-i-ve-never-had-that/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [Telling a story of illness, one pulls a thread through a narrow opening flanked on one side by shame and the other by trivia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/telling-a-story-of-illness-one-pulls-a-thread-through-a-narrow/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) ## More by Robert Genn > [We artists give daily thanks for the miracle of our planet and for the inclination and the capability to honour it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/we-artists-give-daily-thanks-for-the-miracle-of-our-planet-and-for/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Most of my contemporary grant-getters are now doing something other than painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/most-of-my-contemporary-grant-getters-are-now-doing-something-other/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Pushing yourself to extremes blows out the cobwebs of trusted habit. It shakes up what you know to be reliably safe and substitutes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/pushing-yourself-to-extremes-blows-out-the-cobwebs-of-trusted-habit/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Keep busy while you are waiting for something to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/keep-busy-while-you-are-waiting-for-something-to-happen/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Art is a course in personal development that has no reliable diploma and no known end. The pursuit of art instructs in beauty as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/art-is-a-course-in-personal-development-that-has-no-reliable-diploma/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Great paintings have gradations, large and small... They serve to lift the subject off the two-dimensionality of the canvas. 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Mountains are powerful, dangerous, beautiful, noble and mysterious. Mountains get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/mountains-in-all-their-moods-are-symbols-of-something-greater/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Our bodies, apart from their brilliant role as drawing exercises, are the temples of our being. Like the bodies of all fauna, they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/our-bodies-apart-from-their-brilliant-role-as-drawing-exercises-are/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [When I'm in the studio I often hunger for the road. And when away I long for the efficiency of the studio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/when-i-m-in-the-studio-i-often-hunger-for-the-road-and-when-away-i/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [In life and art it's better to be an enthusiastic amateur than a jaded professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/in-life-and-art-it-s-better-to-be-an-enthusiastic-amateur-than-a/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) [Explore all 181 Robert Genn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) ## 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. 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