--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Painting is more important than art." description: "\"Painting is more important than art.\" — Wayne Thiebaud" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/wayne-thiebaud-19970_art_painting-is-more-important-than-art-2335_2335381.png" --- # Painting is more important than art. ![“Painting is more important than art.” quote by Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/wayne-thiebaud-19970_art_painting-is-more-important-than-art-2335_2335381.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/wayne-thiebaud-19970_art_painting-is-more-important-than-art-2335_2335381.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/wayne-thiebaud-19970_art_painting-is-more-important-than-art-2335_2335381.png) > “Painting is more important than art.” [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. Emphasizes that the act of painting holds more value than the abstract concept of art itself. **In simple terms:** Painting matters more than art theory. Key Takeaway Focus on creating, not just defining art. Themes creativity process valuation Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - studio practice - art education - personal expression - gallery curation Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy practical art Questions to Reflect On - How does the act of painting shape your understanding of art? - What risks arise when process is prioritized over meaning? A Different Perspective May overlook the importance of artistic intent and cultural context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-art-274429/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-important-663568/) ## Related quotes > [I usually draw in silence, but listen to music or public radio when I'm painting, after all the important decisions have been made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-blackall/i-usually-draw-in-silence-but-listen-to-music-or-public-radio-when-i/) [Sophie Blackall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-blackall/) > [I like setting up problems for the viewer, like how do you visually deal with a ring when what’s usually in the center of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mangold/i-like-setting-up-problems-for-the-viewer-like-how-do-you-visually/) [Robert Mangold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mangold/) > [“Everybody knocks my female figures. They say they're overblown, that women don't look like that. And I agree. certainly all women don't look like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-frazetta/everybody-knocks-my-female-figures-they-say-they-re-overblown-that/) [Frank Frazetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-frazetta/) > [Painting's not important. The important thing is keeping busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grandma-moses/painting-s-not-important-the-important-thing-is-keeping-busy/) [Grandma Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grandma-moses/) > [As a child, play, drawing, and painting were important to me - they still are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-pryce/as-a-child-play-drawing-and-painting-were-important-to-me-they-still/) [Jonathan Pryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-pryce/) > [What kinds of problems, and what kinds of meanings, happen in the paint? Or as one historian puts it, 'What is thinking in painting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/what-kinds-of-problems-and-what-kinds-of-meanings-happen-in-the-paint/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [Movies were very important. The art-form of the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-manzarek/movies-were-very-important-the-art-form-of-the-20th-century/) [Ray Manzarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-manzarek/) > [Blues is one of the most important art forms. 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It should be listened to and appreciated by everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/opera-is-one-of-the-most-important-art-forms-it-should-be-listened-to/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [I think that limitations are the most important part of any art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-von-trier/i-think-that-limitations-are-the-most-important-part-of-any-art-form/) [Lars von Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-von-trier/) > [Time is not important, but art is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-betts/time-is-not-important-but-art-is/) [Edward Betts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-betts/) > [The most important thing about Jazz at Lincoln Center is the fact that it's the first time that perhaps the most important art form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-vinoly/the-most-important-thing-about-jazz-at-lincoln-center-is-the-fact/) [Rafael Vinoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-vinoly/) ## More by Wayne Thiebaud > [My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/my-subject-matter-was-a-genuine-sort-of-experience-that-came-out-of/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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/) [Explore all 31 Wayne Thiebaud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) ## 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. 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. 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