--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many of the old masters of watercolour…" description: "\"Many of the old masters of watercolour painted from notes, with enthusiasm either unabated or renewed. It is hard to assume the same degree of concentr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/walter-j-phillips-8536_artist_many-of-the-old-masters-of-watercolour-p_481040.jpg" --- # Many of the old masters of watercolour painted from notes… ![“Many of the old masters of watercolour painted from notes, with enthusiasm either unabated or renewed. It is hard to assume the same degree of concentration in the studio, but not impossible.” quote by Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/walter-j-phillips-8536_artist_many-of-the-old-masters-of-watercolour-p_481040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/walter-j-phillips-8536_artist_many-of-the-old-masters-of-watercolour-p_481040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/walter-j-phillips-8536_artist_many-of-the-old-masters-of-watercolour-p_481040.jpg) > “Many of the old masters of watercolour painted from notes, with enthusiasm either unabated or renewed. It is hard to assume the same degree of concentration in the studio, but not impossible.” [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. The passage notes that historic watercolor masters often painted from memory, suggesting modern artists can also achieve focus despite studio distractions. **In simple terms:** Old masters painted from memory; modern artists can too. Key Takeaway Practice recalling scenes to paint from memory. Themes art technique memory focus Mood inspirational thoughtful Type instructional motivational When to use this quote - painting - art education - creative practice - mindfulness Key Concepts visual recall discipline Questions to Reflect On - Can you train your mind to retain visual detail? - What exercises improve artistic concentration? A Different Perspective Memory painting may lack the immediacy of direct observation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Concentration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration/) [Enthusiasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiasm/) ## Related quotes > [It is remarkable how very individual technique becomes in watercolour. Every man of personality finally arrives at a method peculiarly his own, as unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/it-is-remarkable-how-very-individual-technique-becomes-in-watercolour/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Copying is an art in itself, demanding the greatest technical ability, especially in watercolour. However well done, the copy invariably lacks that nascent, ineffable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/copying-is-an-art-in-itself-demanding-the-greatest-technical-ability/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Watercolour painting is notoriously difficult - so much depends on directness and speed, and certainty of intention. Tentative or fumbling touches are disastrous, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/watercolour-painting-is-notoriously-difficult-so-much-depends-on/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [There is the process of enlarging a watercolour, which actually amounts to copying its good points and improving its bad ones, and is interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/there-is-the-process-of-enlarging-a-watercolour-which-actually/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Watercolour could have been used more by the modernists. It is so direct, and when the white paper convention is accepted, so powerful, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milne/watercolour-could-have-been-used-more-by-the-modernists-it-is-so/) [David Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milne/) > [Watercolour is not especially difficult, but I must warn you to steer clear of those pretty English watercolourists, so skilful and alas so weak,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-pissarro/watercolour-is-not-especially-difficult-but-i-must-warn-you-to-steer/) [Camille Pissarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-pissarro/) > [There was a village watercolour society and they'd come and paint in my field. I watched them from the window, the way they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/there-was-a-village-watercolour-society-and-they-d-come-and-paint-in/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [Watercolour is probably the most satisfying of all mediums. Although difficult in the beginning, after practice its mysteries will unfold, providing the utmost pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-lovett/watercolour-is-probably-the-most-satisfying-of-all-mediums-although/) Robert A. Lovett > [What a splendid thing watercolour is to express atmosphere and distance, so that the figure is surrounded by air and can breathe in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/what-a-splendid-thing-watercolour-is-to-express-atmosphere-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Clive Dunn, as I understand it, retired to the south of Spain, where he worked extensively in watercolours. I don't own any of Clive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/clive-dunn-as-i-understand-it-retired-to-the-south-of-spain-where-he/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [With watercolour, you can pick up the atmosphere, the temperature, the sound of snow shifting through the trees or over the ice of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wyeth/with-watercolour-you-can-pick-up-the-atmosphere-the-temperature-the/) [Andrew Wyeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wyeth/) > [With watercolour, you can't cover up the marks. There's the story of the construction of the picture, and then the picture might tell another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/with-watercolour-you-can-t-cover-up-the-marks-there-s-the-story-of/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [“When I see how several painters I know here are struggling with their watercolours and paintings so that they can't see a solution anymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/when-i-see-how-several-painters-i-know-here-are-struggling-with-their/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Paint me by numbers and colour me in watercolour half tones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/paint-me-by-numbers-and-colour-me-in-watercolour-half-tones/) Truth Devour > [“On one wall there was a recent watercolour — Saint E.O. Wilson of Hymenoptera”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/on-one-wall-there-was-a-recent-watercolour-saint-e-o-wilson-of/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [Some drawings are better than others... Some are utterly spoiled... I keep them all. I find a use sometimes even for the worst drawing...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/some-drawings-are-better-than-others-some-are-utterly-spoiled-i-keep/) [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 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 > [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 the old masters of watercolour painted from notes, with enthusiasm either unabated or renewed. It is hard to assume the same degree of concentration in the studio, but not impossible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter J. 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