--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My subject matter was a genuine sort of…" description: "\"My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged to be . . . . I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/wayne-thiebaud-19970_bakeries_my-subject-matter-was-a-genuine-sort-of_42786.jpg" --- # My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that… ![“My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged to be . . . . I would really think of the bakery counters, of the way the counter was lit, where the pies were placed, but I wanted just a piece of the experience…” quote by Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/wayne-thiebaud-19970_bakeries_my-subject-matter-was-a-genuine-sort-of_42786.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/wayne-thiebaud-19970_bakeries_my-subject-matter-was-a-genuine-sort-of_42786.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/wayne-thiebaud-19970_bakeries_my-subject-matter-was-a-genuine-sort-of_42786.jpg) > “My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged to be . . . . I would really think of the bakery counters, of the way the counter was lit, where the pies were placed, but I wanted just a piece of the experience. From when I worked in restaurants . . . \[it was\] always poetic to me.” [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist draws on everyday, working‑class scenes—bakery counters, restaurant kitchens—to capture the poetic resonance of ordinary labor and its sensory details. **In simple terms:** Ordinary work can be poetic. Key Takeaway Find poetry in routine tasks. Themes Everyday life Sensory detail Labor dignity American culture Nostalgia Mood Reflective Nostalgic Intimate Type Personal anecdote Artistic statement When to use this quote - Writing about personal history - Teaching art observation - Designing food‑service interiors - Creating marketing copy for bakeries - Developing documentary photography projects Key Concepts Subjectivity Visual texture Narrative memory Practical Applications - Use vivid sensory cues in storytelling - Incorporate mundane settings to evoke authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on the mundane change our perception of value? - What sensory details make a scene feel alive? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Pie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pie/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [My father was clearly a mentor. He told me if you work 10 years and you worked 40 hours a week, then you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-j-lundgren/my-father-was-clearly-a-mentor-he-told-me-if-you-work-10-years-and/) [Terry J. Lundgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-j-lundgren/) > [“My goal is to allow readers their own experience of whatever discovery I have made, so that it feels new to them, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/my-goal-is-to-allow-readers-their-own-experience-of-whatever/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [I don't have a particular genre that I want to stick to; if you work on a small piece, you take that experience with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-sharrock/i-don-t-have-a-particular-genre-that-i-want-to-stick-to-if-you-work/) [Thea Sharrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-sharrock/) > [Every time I started painting it was like a new experience, but they all came out the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/every-time-i-started-painting-it-was-like-a-new-experience-but-they/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [My first boxing experience came at around 14. There was always confrontation in the area I grew up in. My mentality, I'll be honest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-yarde/my-first-boxing-experience-came-at-around-14-there-was-always/) [Anthony Yarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-yarde/) > [In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision of a society of alcoholics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-w/in-the-wake-of-my-spiritual-experience-there-came-a-vision-of-a/) [Bill W](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-w/) > [“So tell me what happened to you in Romania. You had a bad experience?’ She came back towards me, leaning against the fireplace, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edwards/so-tell-me-what-happened-to-you-in-romania-you-had-a-bad-experience/) [Mark Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edwards/) > [I'd had the quintessential liberal arts experience, and I came out of college not having a clue of what to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/i-d-had-the-quintessential-liberal-arts-experience-and-i-came-out-of/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [I saw why people died and how they died. I saw gunshot wounds and liver failure. It was a good learning experience, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baden/i-saw-why-people-died-and-how-they-died-i-saw-gunshot-wounds-and/) [Michael Baden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baden/) > [“Experience came easily enough, learning how not to suffer would have proved much more practical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-williams/experience-came-easily-enough-learning-how-not-to-suffer-would-have/) [Tad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tad-williams/) > [And I came away from that experience, and it was a very difficult experience - I came to understand that you have to practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/and-i-came-away-from-that-experience-and-it-was-a-very-difficult/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [It was from this experience came his oft-repeated belief that every man has but one destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-puzo/it-was-from-this-experience-came-his-oft-repeated-belief-that-every/) [Mario Puzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-puzo/) > [My dad's an architect and my mom owned a French bakery for twelve years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lohman/my-dad-s-an-architect-and-my-mom-owned-a-french-bakery-for-twelve/) [Alison Lohman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lohman/) > [I did work in a bakery for one day. But the boss went off and when he came back I was lying on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/i-did-work-in-a-bakery-for-one-day-but-the-boss-went-off-and-when-he/) [Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/) > [Sometimes I feel like I've got my nose pressed up against the window of a bakery, only I'm the bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/sometimes-i-feel-like-i-ve-got-my-nose-pressed-up-against-the-window/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) ## More by Wayne Thiebaud > [Diebenkorn was a very good critic, a very tough critic, tough on himself, tough on others. He expected the finest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/diebenkorn-was-a-very-good-critic-a-very-tough-critic-tough-on/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [I haven't the slightest idea what art is, but to be a painter is something of which you have to prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/i-haven-t-the-slightest-idea-what-art-is-but-to-be-a-painter-is/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [We all need critical confrontation of the fullest and most extreme kind that we can get. You can unnecessarily limit yourself by choosing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/we-all-need-critical-confrontation-of-the-fullest-and-most-extreme/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [When you think of painting as painting it is rather absurd. The real world is before us - glorious sunlight and activity and fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/when-you-think-of-painting-as-painting-it-is-rather-absurd-the-real/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Art means something very rare, an extraordinary achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/art-means-something-very-rare-an-extraordinary-achievement/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Art is one of the dirtiest words in our language; it's mucked up with all kinds of meanings. There's the art of plumbing; there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/art-is-one-of-the-dirtiest-words-in-our-language-it-s-mucked-up-with/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Morandi gave an intimate view of his deepest thoughts. We watched him inquiring after the devilish questions of essences and substances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/morandi-gave-an-intimate-view-of-his-deepest-thoughts-we-watched-him/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [I don't make a lot of distinctions between things like landscape or figure painting, because to me the problems are inherently the same -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/i-don-t-make-a-lot-of-distinctions-between-things-like-landscape-or/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [An artist has to train his responses more than other people do. He has to be as disciplined as a mathematician. Discipline is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/an-artist-has-to-train-his-responses-more-than-other-people-do-he-has/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [My sin as a painter is that I just want to paint anything I want to paint - and repaint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/my-sin-as-a-painter-is-that-i-just-want-to-paint-anything-i-want-to/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [A conscious decision to eliminate certain details and include selective bits of personal experiences or perceptual nuances, gives the painting more of a multi-dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/a-conscious-decision-to-eliminate-certain-details-and-include/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [A painter is always overjoyed when anybody pays any attention to him at all, puts him in any category, calls him anything - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/a-painter-is-always-overjoyed-when-anybody-pays-any-attention-to-him/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [If you stare at an object, as you do when you paint, there is no point at which you stop learning things from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/if-you-stare-at-an-object-as-you-do-when-you-paint-there-is-no-point/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [As far as I'm concerned, there is only one study and that is the way in which things relate to one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-there-is-only-one-study-and-that-is-the-way/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Art is not delivered like the morning paper; it has to be stolen from Mount Olympus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/art-is-not-delivered-like-the-morning-paper-it-has-to-be-stolen-from/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) [Explore all 31 Wayne Thiebaud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) ## More Bakeries quotes > [Sometimes I feel like I've got my nose pressed up against the window of a bakery, only I'm the bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/sometimes-i-feel-like-i-ve-got-my-nose-pressed-up-against-the-window/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I did work in a bakery for one day. But the boss went off and when he came back I was lying on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/i-did-work-in-a-bakery-for-one-day-but-the-boss-went-off-and-when-he/) [Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/) > [My dad's an architect and my mom owned a French bakery for twelve years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lohman/my-dad-s-an-architect-and-my-mom-owned-a-french-bakery-for-twelve/) [Alison Lohman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lohman/) > [I'm not sure about these cookies ... They came from the local 7/11 bakery, or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-m-not-sure-about-these-cookies-they-came-from-the-local-7-11-bakery/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [It (suicide) became a possibility like Maybe when I grow up, I will be dead. Life was a cake that looked good on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/it-suicide-became-a-possibility-like-maybe-when-i-grow-up-i-will-be/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I had a lot of things I wanted to do… I want to be a teacher…I also want to be an astronaut…and also make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/i-had-a-lot-of-things-i-wanted-to-do-i-want-to-be-a-teacher-i-also/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [We set up a bakery called Bad Boy Bakery, to cook on the inside to sell on the outside. It was huge, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/we-set-up-a-bakery-called-bad-boy-bakery-to-cook-on-the-inside-to/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [Would I be as strong as that once I did that thing Christophe was talking about? Blooming? Would I smell like a bakery item?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/would-i-be-as-strong-as-that-once-i-did-that-thing-christophe-was/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [Eating alone is a disappointment. But not eating matter more, is hollow and green, has thorns like a chain of fish hooks, trailing from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/eating-alone-is-a-disappointment-but-not-eating-matter-more-is-hollow/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Proud parents to two children Grandparents to five more Who visit the "Harper Bakery" It's Gran's cooking they all adore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walter-bratton/proud-parents-to-two-children-grandparents-to-five-more-who-visit-the/) [John Walter Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walter-bratton/) > [ What really takes me back is when I'm walking around the Lower East Side, because we went to so many places \[there\] - the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jancee-dunn/what-really-takes-me-back-is-when-i-m-walking-around-the-lower-east/) [Jancee Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jancee-dunn/) > [My mother would organize huge parties for my elementary school classmates. To prepare, she would go back to the bakery in her old neighborhood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-quinn/my-mother-would-organize-huge-parties-for-my-elementary-school/) [Christine Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-quinn/) > [Well, I have a lot of appetites and try to revel in almost everything, so inspiration can even come from a well-appointed submarine sandwich,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/well-i-have-a-lot-of-appetites-and-try-to-revel-in-almost-everything/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [We don't consider a trip to Boston complete if it doesn't include a visit to Flour Bakery for a BLT and a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hesser/we-don-t-consider-a-trip-to-boston-complete-if-it-doesn-t-include-a/) Amanda Hesser > [Hunger, she often tells me, has nothing to do with the belly and everything to do with the mind. What Mary really runs isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/hunger-she-often-tells-me-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-belly-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) Browse all 44 Bakeries quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged to be . . . . I would really think of the bakery counters, of the way the counter was lit, where the pies were placed, but I wanted just a piece of the experience. From when I worked in restaurants . . . 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