--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am an artist... It's self-evident that…" description: "\"I am an artist... It's self-evident that what that word implies is looking for something all the time without ever finding it in full. It is the opposi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/743/vincent-van-gogh-486_art_i-am-an-artist-it-s-self-evident-that-wh_281980.jpg" --- # I am an artist... It's self-evident that what that word… ![“I am an artist... It's self-evident that what that word implies is looking for something all the time without ever finding it in full. It is the opposite of saying, 'I know all about it. I've already found it.' As far as I'm concerned, the word means, 'I am looking. I am hunting for it. I am…” quote by Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/743/vincent-van-gogh-486_art_i-am-an-artist-it-s-self-evident-that-wh_281980.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/743/vincent-van-gogh-486_art_i-am-an-artist-it-s-self-evident-that-wh_281980.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/743/vincent-van-gogh-486_art_i-am-an-artist-it-s-self-evident-that-wh_281980.jpg) > “I am an artist... It's self-evident that what that word implies is looking for something all the time without ever finding it in full. It is the opposite of saying, 'I know all about it. I've already found it.' As far as I'm concerned, the word means, 'I am looking. I am hunting for it. I am deeply involved.'” [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## 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 expresses that being an artist is a perpetual search, never a complete mastery, emphasizing continual curiosity and engagement. **In simple terms:** Being an artist means always seeking, never fully knowing. Key Takeaway Embrace the ongoing quest for understanding. Themes creativity search humility Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - learning - exploration Key Concepts existentialism artistic process Questions to Reflect On - How does perpetual searching shape your work? - Can you balance searching with recognizing progress? A Different Perspective It may overlook moments of confidence and achievement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evident/) [Finding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) [Implies Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/implies-looking-2732201/) [Involved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involved/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-looking-1135559/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Word Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-means-251878/) ## Related quotes > [Creating opportunities means looking where others are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/creating-opportunities-means-looking-where-others-are-not/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [“Re-search means look again, don't it? Means they're looking for something they found once and it got away somehow, and now they got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/re-search-means-look-again-don-t-it-means-they-re-looking-for/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Discipline means looking beyond the appearance, beyond that which is visible and acknowledging one Infinite Cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-johnson/discipline-means-looking-beyond-the-appearance-beyond-that-which-is/) [Tom Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-johnson/) > [To see color as form means looking at the image in a new way, trying to free oneself from absorption in subject matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-weston/to-see-color-as-form-means-looking-at-the-image-in-a-new-way-trying/) [Cole Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-weston/) > [If a person continues to see giants, it means he is still looking at the world through the eyes of a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/if-a-person-continues-to-see-giants-it-means-he-is-still-looking-at/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [... it's always interesting when one doesn't see. If you don't see what a thing means, you must be looking at it wrong way round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/it-s-always-interesting-when-one-doesn-t-see-if-you-don-t-see-what-a/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Seeing, in the finest and broadest sense, means using your senses, your intellect, and your emotions. It means encountering your subject matter with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-patterson/seeing-in-the-finest-and-broadest-sense-means-using-your-senses-your/) [Freeman Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-patterson/) > [“Holding the cup of life means looking critically at what we are living. This requires great courage, because when we start looking, we might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/holding-the-cup-of-life-means-looking-critically-at-what-we-are/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [It means we're looking one way, while following another. We're for one side and also the other. We mean what we say, but our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/it-means-we-re-looking-one-way-while-following-another-we-re-for-one/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Love means always looking together in the same direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-deir/love-means-always-looking-together-in-the-same-direction/) [Linda Deir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-deir/) > [“It means looking out for your own interests. And, for how crazy life gets sometimes, that's a good policy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-tregay/it-means-looking-out-for-your-own-interests-and-for-how-crazy-life/) [Sarah Tregay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-tregay/) > [M- O -T -H - E -R M is for the million things she gave me , O means only that she ' s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/m-o-t-h-e-r-m-is-for-the-million-things-she-gave-me-o-means-only-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Abligurition: an actual, if very obscure, English word, which means the spending of too much money on food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/abligurition-an-actual-if-very-obscure-english-word-which-means-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Yorkshire word and means spoiled and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/yorkshire-word-and-means-spoiled-and/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More by Vincent Van Gogh > [What am I in most people's eyes? A nonentity or an eccentric and disagreeable man... I should want my work to show what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/what-am-i-in-most-people-s-eyes-a-nonentity-or-an-eccentric-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/the-heart-of-man-is-very-much-like-the-sea-it-has-its-storms-it-has/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“I take great care of myself by carefully shutting myself away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-take-great-care-of-myself-by-carefully-shutting-myself-away/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [There certainly is an affinity between a person and his work, but it is not easy to define what this affinity is, and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/there-certainly-is-an-affinity-between-a-person-and-his-work-but-it/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I confess I do not know why, but looking at the stars always makes me dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-confess-i-do-not-know-why-but-looking-at-the-stars-always-makes-me/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Ah, Manet has come very, very close to it and Courbet - the marrying of form and colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-manet-has-come-very-very-close-to-it-and-courbet-the-marrying-of/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [We must not judge God from this world. It's just a study that didn't come off. It's only a master who could make such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/we-must-not-judge-god-from-this-world-it-s-just-a-study-that-didn-t/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/our-goals-can-only-be-reached-through-a-vehicle-of-a-plan-in-which-we/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [One can never study nature too much and too hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/one-can-never-study-nature-too-much-and-too-hard/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [But by fighting the difficulties in which one finds oneself, an inner strength develops from within our heart, which improves in life's fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/but-by-fighting-the-difficulties-in-which-one-finds-oneself-an-inner/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Ah! My dear friend painting is to us what the music of Berlioz and Wagner was before us - a consolatory art for sore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-my-dear-friend-painting-is-to-us-what-the-music-of-berlioz-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Painting demands an intelligent model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/painting-demands-an-intelligent-model/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [That this awareness of my own fallibility will prevent me from making many mistakes doesn't alter the fact that I'm bound to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/that-this-awareness-of-my-own-fallibility-will-prevent-me-from-making/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [What is drawing? 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The question is: Has everybody also been reflexive as a child?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/you-will-say-that-everyone-has-seen-landscapes-and-figures-from/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) [Explore all 508 Vincent Van Gogh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## 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. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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