--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Becoming an artist cannot be taught. A…" description: "\"Becoming an artist cannot be taught. A degree and diligence is not a guarantee that one can become an 'artist.\" — Scott Kahn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/scott-kahn-31749_art_becoming-an-artist-cannot-be-taught-a-de_2542081.jpg" --- # Becoming an artist cannot be taught. A degree and… ![“Becoming an artist cannot be taught. A degree and diligence is not a guarantee that one can become an 'artist.” quote by Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/scott-kahn-31749_art_becoming-an-artist-cannot-be-taught-a-de_2542081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/scott-kahn-31749_art_becoming-an-artist-cannot-be-taught-a-de_2542081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/scott-kahn-31749_art_becoming-an-artist-cannot-be-taught-a-de_2542081.jpg) > “Becoming an artist cannot be taught. A degree and diligence is not a guarantee that one can become an 'artist.” [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic talent cannot be taught; formal education doesn’t guarantee artistic ability. **In simple terms:** Art can’t be taught, degree isn’t enough. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal expression beyond formal training. Themes art education talent Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - art school - self‑study - career development Key Concepts creativity learning styles Questions to Reflect On - How do you develop artistic skill independently? - What role does education play? A Different Perspective May discount the value of practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Diligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligence/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ## Related quotes > [Just let the artist sign an empty canvas or a frame, with the inscription, 'I had such and such a concept in mind' for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/just-let-the-artist-sign-an-empty-canvas-or-a-frame-with-the/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [We need to deal with the problem of al Qaeda, make sure that they can't have a sanctuary in Afghanistan and guarantee that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/we-need-to-deal-with-the-problem-of-al-qaeda-make-sure-that-they-can/) [Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/) > [This relationship will help guarantee that, for generations to come, people of all nations will understand my beliefs and my purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/this-relationship-will-help-guarantee-that-for-generations-to-come/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We should work to guarantee that there is a midwife or health worker by every woman's side during childbirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liya-kebede/we-should-work-to-guarantee-that-there-is-a-midwife-or-health-worker/) [Liya Kebede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liya-kebede/) > [Chefs don't do ponytails and we shouldn't do them because I guarantee that whenever there's a discovery of hair in the food, it's guaranteed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-ramsay/chefs-don-t-do-ponytails-and-we-shouldn-t-do-them-because-i-guarantee/) [Gordon Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-ramsay/) > [Had I not gone through the ordeal, in more than one country, of landing a job, I would he tempted to lose patience over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/had-i-not-gone-through-the-ordeal-in-more-than-one-country-of-landing/) [B. 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Cringely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-x-cringely/) > [It may happen that the enemies of Islam may consider it expedient not to take any action against Islam, if Islam leaves them alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayyid-qutb/it-may-happen-that-the-enemies-of-islam-may-consider-it-expedient-not/) [Sayyid Qutb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayyid-qutb/) > [When you buy Fairtrade products you can guarantee that the farmers who have worked hard to grow them get a minimum price. Fairtrade is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/when-you-buy-fairtrade-products-you-can-guarantee-that-the-farmers/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [We can at least see that the question is asked, and asked on the basis of a clear recognition that there is no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/we-can-at-least-see-that-the-question-is-asked-and-asked-on-the-basis/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [As was the case in Requiem for a Dream, Pollock, A Beautiful Mind, House of Sand and Fog, The Hulk and Dark Water, Connelly's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-queenan/as-was-the-case-in-requiem-for-a-dream-pollock-a-beautiful-mind-house/) [Joe Queenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-queenan/) > [Full and unhesitating implementation of the report's findings must now follow. I call upon the Labour Party to guarantee that there will be zero…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephraim-mirvis/full-and-unhesitating-implementation-of-the-report-s-findings-must/) [Ephraim Mirvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephraim-mirvis/) > [If we are looking for one single action which will enable the poor to overcome their poverty, I would go for credit. Money is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/if-we-are-looking-for-one-single-action-which-will-enable-the-poor-to/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) ## More by Scott Kahn > [The conceptual and politically-driven art so popular and considered to be the forefront of contemporary art today is limited by its topicality and will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/the-conceptual-and-politically-driven-art-so-popular-and-considered/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [Art springs from life but it doesn't mean we have to be tyrannized by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/art-springs-from-life-but-it-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to-be-tyrannized-by/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [Color, like everything else concerning visual expression, usually boils down to a gift, an innate sensibility and sensitivity. Ultimately, artists develop their own palette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/color-like-everything-else-concerning-visual-expression-usually-boils/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [What the artist should be asking is, "Am I being honest? Am I being myself? Am I searching for the truth? Am I reporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/what-the-artist-should-be-asking-is-am-i-being-honest-am-i-being/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [The voice will always be heard, even if the song is very different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/the-voice-will-always-be-heard-even-if-the-song-is-very-different/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [I paint with a language I can call my own... it takes a ruthless honesty with oneself. If one admires or is influenced by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/i-paint-with-a-language-i-can-call-my-own-it-takes-a-ruthless-honesty/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [Self-deceit is a most damaging trait. The remedy, for an artist, is to paint a self-portrait!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/self-deceit-is-a-most-damaging-trait-the-remedy-for-an-artist-is-to/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [Let us not forget that group of self-taught, outsider artists who never stepped foot in any classroom and cared less about even exhibiting, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/let-us-not-forget-that-group-of-self-taught-outsider-artists-who/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [No amount of virtuosic skill and choice of subject matter can be a substitute for depth and poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/no-amount-of-virtuosic-skill-and-choice-of-subject-matter-can-be-a/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [The art business is a rarified business and appeals to an audience capable of spending money on a luxury. Too often the atmosphere in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/the-art-business-is-a-rarified-business-and-appeals-to-an-audience/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [I don't approve of what Wall Street and the wealthy have done to this country, but they are the very ones buying my paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/i-don-t-approve-of-what-wall-street-and-the-wealthy-have-done-to-this/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [Selling is not a static activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/selling-is-not-a-static-activity/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [The art which speaks to a universal audience concerns itself with the 'big' questions of life and death, and delivers its message with unrelenting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/the-art-which-speaks-to-a-universal-audience-concerns-itself-with-the/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [Preconceived notions and rules are antithetical to the creative process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/preconceived-notions-and-rules-are-antithetical-to-the-creative/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) > [I don't think it's wise to manufacture a painting, just for the sake of working... if the impulse isn't truly there, the painting will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-kahn/i-don-t-think-it-s-wise-to-manufacture-a-painting-just-for-the-sake/) [Scott Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) [Explore all 16 Scott Kahn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-kahn/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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 > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Becoming an artist cannot be taught. 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