--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many of us knuckle-dragging…" description: "\"Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think that 'behind the times' is part of our job description. Why deny ourselves the authentic journey of a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/robert-genn-2179_artist_many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painte_2847451.jpg" --- # Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think that… ![“Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think that 'behind the times' is part of our job description. Why deny ourselves the authentic journey of a time-honoured form?” quote by Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/robert-genn-2179_artist_many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painte_2847451.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/robert-genn-2179_artist_many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painte_2847451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/robert-genn-2179_artist_many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painte_2847451.jpg) > “Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think that 'behind the times' is part of our job description. Why deny ourselves the authentic journey of a time-honoured form?” [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. He challenges artists to move beyond outdated techniques and embrace authentic, time‑honored methods. **In simple terms:** Embrace authentic artistic traditions. Key Takeaway Seek genuine, timeless methods. Themes artistic authenticity tradition growth Mood inspirational thoughtful Type art philosophy When to use this quote - art workshops - studio practice - creative education Key Concepts creative process historical techniques Questions to Reflect On - What traditional methods could you revive? - How does authenticity affect your work? A Different Perspective Some may cling to modern trends over tradition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Brush Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brush-painters-3768875/) [Brushes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brushes/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Description](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/description/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Job description](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-description/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Knuckles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knuckles/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painters/) [Painters Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painters-think-2727026/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Think Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-times-379225/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Honoured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-honoured-3244091/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) ## Related quotes > [Just like the brush in the painters hand we have no idea where we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/just-like-the-brush-in-the-painters-hand-we-have-no-idea-where-we-are/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Kids draw masterpieces - they're the best painters ever. I think the same with music. They could totally write amazing music if they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjork/kids-draw-masterpieces-they-re-the-best-painters-ever-i-think-the/) [Bjork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjork/) > [It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Even the most time-honoured truths do not have to be accepted until they are your truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/even-the-most-time-honoured-truths-do-not-have-to-be-accepted-until/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Any time you're honoured by your home, it's a bigger deal than most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-short/any-time-you-re-honoured-by-your-home-it-s-a-bigger-deal-than-most/) [Martin Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-short/) > [Artists are supposed to be the ones with imagination. A good part of our job description is to get regular people to use theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/artists-are-supposed-to-be-the-ones-with-imagination-a-good-part-of/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [At times I think and at times I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/at-times-i-think-and-at-times-i-am/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Fuck that chick you love so bad I know you still think about the times we've had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/fuck-that-chick-you-love-so-bad-i-know-you-still-think-about-the/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“Few people think more than two or three times a year,” Shaw reportedly said. “I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/few-people-think-more-than-two-or-three-times-a-year-shaw-reportedly/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [I think there are times when I can be a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/i-think-there-are-times-when-i-can-be-a-good-thing/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [Keep your life like an open book, before lifting your finger will be forced to think a hundred times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/keep-your-life-like-an-open-book-before-lifting-your-finger-will-be/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Sometimes I think and other times I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/sometimes-i-think-and-other-times-i-am/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [I think times have changed, and there's no dearth of talent in the music industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankar-mahadevan/i-think-times-have-changed-and-there-s-no-dearth-of-talent-in-the/) [Shankar Mahadevan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shankar-mahadevan/) > [I know you still think about the times we had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-know-you-still-think-about-the-times-we-had/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Sometimes I sit and think and other times I just sit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satchel-paige/sometimes-i-sit-and-think-and-other-times-i-just-sit/) [Satchel Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satchel-paige/) ## 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. Gradations are an essential abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/great-paintings-have-gradations-large-and-small-they-serve-to-lift/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Take your brush here and there like a bee in an alpine meadow. In other words, don't laboriously work on or try to finish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/take-your-brush-here-and-there-like-a-bee-in-an-alpine-meadow-in/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Evolved creators are just as curious about their failures as they are of their successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/evolved-creators-are-just-as-curious-about-their-failures-as-they-are/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Art is a path on which we honour our world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/art-is-a-path-on-which-we-honour-our-world/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [With repetition, the alternate approaches become clear, options open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/with-repetition-the-alternate-approaches-become-clear-options-open/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [When shucked and released from its edges, the windowless subject stands alone as its own thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/when-shucked-and-released-from-its-edges-the-windowless-subject/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Mountains in all their moods are symbols of something greater, something worth aspiring to. 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. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think that 'behind the times' is part of our job description. Why deny ourselves the authentic journey of a time-honoured form?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Genn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painters-think-that-behind-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painters-think-that-behind-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/robert-genn-2179_artist_many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painte_2847451.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/robert-genn-2179_artist_many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painte_2847451.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/robert-genn-2179_artist_many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painte_2847451.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think that 'behind the times' is part of our job description. Why…” — Robert Genn", "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": "Robert Genn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painters-think-that-behind-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painters-think-that-behind-the/#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 } } ] } ```