--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Colour is as variable and evanescent in…" description: "\"Colour is as variable and evanescent in the form of pigment as in visible nature.\" — Walter J. Phillips" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/walter-j-phillips-8536_color_colour-is-as-variable-and-evanescent-in_2552176.jpg" --- # Colour is as variable and evanescent in the form of… ![“Colour is as variable and evanescent in the form of pigment as in visible nature.” quote by Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/walter-j-phillips-8536_color_colour-is-as-variable-and-evanescent-in_2552176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/walter-j-phillips-8536_color_colour-is-as-variable-and-evanescent-in_2552176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/walter-j-phillips-8536_color_colour-is-as-variable-and-evanescent-in_2552176.jpg) > “Colour is as variable and evanescent in the form of pigment as in visible nature.” [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Colour changes quickly and is fleeting, both in pigments and natural light, highlighting impermanence. **In simple terms:** Colour is fleeting and changes. Key Takeaway Notice and appreciate fleeting beauty. Themes impermanence perception art science Mood reflective thoughtful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - painting - photography - design - nature observation Key Concepts Aesthetics visual dynamics ephemerality Questions to Reflect On - How does fleeting colour affect your mood? - What does impermanence teach about value? A Different Perspective Colour’s constancy is limited; perception can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Blue suggests the sea and sky, and they, after all, are in actual, visible nature what is most abstract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-klein/blue-suggests-the-sea-and-sky-and-they-after-all-are-in-actual/) [Yves Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-klein/) > [Visible nature is but a distorted reflection of a more perfect world and the creative individual viewing her is inspired to perceive within and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/visible-nature-is-but-a-distorted-reflection-of-a-more-perfect-world/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [“This gesture is one of the motifs of modernity's turn against the principle of imitating nature, that is to say, imitating predefined morphological expectations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/this-gesture-is-one-of-the-motifs-of-modernity-s-turn-against-the/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [Nature is a light, and by looking at Nature in her own light we will understand her. Visible Nature can be seen in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/nature-is-a-light-and-by-looking-at-nature-in-her-own-light-we-will-2/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [Nature is a light, and by looking at Nature in her own light we will understand her. Visible Nature may be seen in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/nature-is-a-light-and-by-looking-at-nature-in-her-own-light-we-will/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [Luminosity is a quality dependent as much on technique as on the physical properties of individual pigments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/luminosity-is-a-quality-dependent-as-much-on-technique-as-on-the/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Rhythm is as necessary in a picture as pigment; it is as much a part of painting as of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/rhythm-is-as-necessary-in-a-picture-as-pigment-it-is-as-much-a-part/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [My mantra is, 'Don't be afraid of color.' What did it do to you? Do a color testing in alternate kinds of light you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/my-mantra-is-don-t-be-afraid-of-color-what-did-it-do-to-you-do-a/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [Potassium cyanide," says the talent wrangler as she leans over to pick up a paper napkin off the floor. "Found naturally in the cassava…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/potassium-cyanide-says-the-talent-wrangler-as-she-leans-over-to-pick/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [One makes use of pigments, but one paints with one's feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-simeon-chardin/one-makes-use-of-pigments-but-one-paints-with-one-s-feelings/) Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin > [Being beautiful is not in the way you dress nor on the pigments you put in your face. Being beautiful is being simple.All girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/being-beautiful-is-not-in-the-way-you-dress-nor-on-the-pigments-you/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/computer-science-education-cannot-make-anybody-an-expert-programmer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My pigment is of the earth, and collecting my sacred fire from my solar plexus with the central sun of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/my-pigment-is-of-the-earth-and-collecting-my-sacred-fire-from-my/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) > [What a severe yet master artist old Winter is... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/what-a-severe-yet-master-artist-old-winter-is-no-longer-the-canvas/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-sometimes-he-will-say-it-s-been/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More by Walter J. Phillips > [Any subject is suitable provided it is of sufficient interest, but the design must be very carefully considered, and plenty of time and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/any-subject-is-suitable-provided-it-is-of-sufficient-interest-but-the/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [The rewards of art are not always commensurate with its quality. It affords a precarious living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/the-rewards-of-art-are-not-always-commensurate-with-its-quality-it/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [There must be a judicious arrangement of all the parts. Considered conversely, the artist's task is to fill his panel with a design that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/there-must-be-a-judicious-arrangement-of-all-the-parts-considered/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [It is the sense of unfamiliar envelopment that is impressive, whether in the living grays of hoarfrost, the crimson of the heavens at sunset,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/it-is-the-sense-of-unfamiliar-envelopment-that-is-impressive-whether/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [A horizontal or vertical line lacks energy, compared with one that deviates from either. The difference between these graphic expressions is the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/a-horizontal-or-vertical-line-lacks-energy-compared-with-one-that/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Many cherish the idea that a photograph is an exact presentment of nature, and accept without question the paradox that a photograph cannot lie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/many-cherish-the-idea-that-a-photograph-is-an-exact-presentment-of/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Take away a painter's vanity, said a famous landscape painter, and he will never touch a pencil again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/take-away-a-painter-s-vanity-said-a-famous-landscape-painter-and-he/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Submit your work to interested societies for exhibition where the critics in the light of their physical well-being and according to the extent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/submit-your-work-to-interested-societies-for-exhibition-where-the/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [The portrait painter... If he insults his sitters his occupation is gone. Whether he paints the should instead of the features, or the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/the-portrait-painter-if-he-insults-his-sitters-his-occupation-is-gone/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Tradition is a prop for social security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/tradition-is-a-prop-for-social-security/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [While it is emotion that gives an impulse to the landscape painter, it is his style that inspires the critic's praise, and his subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/while-it-is-emotion-that-gives-an-impulse-to-the-landscape-painter-it/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Water is the most expressive element in nature. It responds to every mood from tranquility to turbulence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/water-is-the-most-expressive-element-in-nature-it-responds-to-every/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Etching will suggest subtle variations of tone, the most delicate shadings, all with black lines, which, as far as lines go, are unsurpassed for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/etching-will-suggest-subtle-variations-of-tone-the-most-delicate/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Many of the old masters of watercolour painted from notes, with enthusiasm either unabated or renewed. It is hard to assume the same degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/many-of-the-old-masters-of-watercolour-painted-from-notes-with/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [For an intelligent estimate of your technique go to another artist working in the same medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/for-an-intelligent-estimate-of-your-technique-go-to-another-artist/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) [Explore all 80 Walter J. Phillips quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) ## More Color quotes > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Orange is my favorite color overall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/orange-is-my-favorite-color-overall/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We have to keep in practice like musicians. Besides, there are still potentialities to be realized in color film. To us, it's just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-have-to-keep-in-practice-like-musicians-besides-there-are-still/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) [Browse all 5,594 Color quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Colour is as variable and evanescent in the form of pigment as in visible nature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter J. 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