--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I might work on a painting for a month…" description: "\"I might work on a painting for a month, but it has too look like I painted it in a minute.\" — Willem de Kooning" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/willem-de-kooning-12563_looks_i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-b_1085278.jpg" --- # I might work on a painting for a month, but it has too… ![“I might work on a painting for a month, but it has too look like I painted it in a minute.” quote by Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/willem-de-kooning-12563_looks_i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-b_1085278.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/willem-de-kooning-12563_looks_i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-b_1085278.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/willem-de-kooning-12563_looks_i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-b_1085278.jpg) > “I might work on a painting for a month, but it has too look like I painted it in a minute.” [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An artist strives for a finished work that appears effortless, masking the labor and time invested. **In simple terms:** Artists want their work to look easy despite hard work. Key Takeaway Make effort invisible. Themes artistry effort perception craftsmanship Mood thoughtful analytical inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - design - creative presentation Key Concepts illusion skill time management Questions to Reflect On - How can you showcase process without diminishing impact? - What value lies in visible effort? A Different Perspective The pressure to hide effort can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Like Painted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-painted-1388901/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Painted Minute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted-minute-2776724/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Month](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-month-2776725/) [Work Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-painting-1393813/) ## Related quotes > [It was the only thing I had to do. I worked to get rid of the time, even now I work for something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-s-lowry/it-was-the-only-thing-i-had-to-do-i-worked-to-get-rid-of-the-time/) [L. S. Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-s-lowry/) > [My process of working is not really that unique. I like to paint during the day, and block out large chunks of time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosson-crow/my-process-of-working-is-not-really-that-unique-i-like-to-paint/) [Rosson Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosson-crow/) > [For the surface, I'm not interested in painterly convention. It's more interesting if it looks like it painted itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-koop/for-the-surface-i-m-not-interested-in-painterly-convention-it-s-more/) [Wanda Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-koop/) > [“What do you think Gemma? Do you like being painted this way?" All I can think is that being painted by him feels a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/what-do-you-think-gemma-do-you-like-being-painted-this-way-all-i-can/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [“I have qualms and wonder what a qualm would look like if you painted it -- probably like a bowl of melting ice cream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-whelan/i-have-qualms-and-wonder-what-a-qualm-would-look-like-if-you-painted/) [Gloria Whelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-whelan/) > [Flattery is like a painted armor; only for show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/flattery-is-like-a-painted-armor-only-for-show/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [This picture you see is nothing like the one I painted of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/counting-crows/this-picture-you-see-is-nothing-like-the-one-i-painted-of-me/) [Counting Crows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/counting-crows/) > [It seems like if you are not painted up special way or have some tailor made outfit to put on to go out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-anselmo/it-seems-like-if-you-are-not-painted-up-special-way-or-have-some/) [Phil Anselmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-anselmo/) > [All the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-the-people-of-all-the-nations-which-had-fought-in-the-first-world/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Every bite you eat stays in mouth for two minutes, for two hours in stomach and for two month on hips.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/every-bite-you-eat-stays-in-mouth-for-two-minutes-for-two-hours-in/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/moving-eight-miles-a-minute-for-months-at-a-time/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [About a year after I moved to Los Angeles, I decided I wanted to be a joke writer for a late night talk show.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/about-a-year-after-i-moved-to-los-angeles-i-decided-i-wanted-to-be-a/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [I went from 118 pounds to 135 pounds in a few months. But, I still didn't know anything about food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-cuccurullo/i-went-from-118-pounds-to-135-pounds-in-a-few-months-but-i-still-didn/) [Warren Cuccurullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-cuccurullo/) > [We can't have a government that will collapse in three months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-varadkar/we-can-t-have-a-government-that-will-collapse-in-three-months/) [Leo Varadkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-varadkar/) > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## More by Willem de Kooning > [The texture of experience is prior to everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-texture-of-experience-is-prior-to-everything-else/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Art should not have to be a certain way,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/art-should-not-have-to-be-a-certain-way/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I think I'm painting a picture of two women but it may turn out to be a landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-think-i-m-painting-a-picture-of-two-women-but-it-may-turn-out-to-be/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Im not someone whos ever said anything definitive about his work. In my life also I have very little fixed form. I can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/im-not-someone-whos-ever-said-anything-definitive-about-his-work-in/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Style is a fraud. I always felt the Greeks were hiding behind their columns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/style-is-a-fraud-i-always-felt-the-greeks-were-hiding-behind-their/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Whatever an artist's personal feelings are, as soon as an artist fills a certain area on the canvas or circumscribes it, he becomes historical.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/whatever-an-artist-s-personal-feelings-are-as-soon-as-an-artist-fills/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [The idea of space is given to the artist to change if he can. The subject matter in the abstract is space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-idea-of-space-is-given-to-the-artist-to-change-if-he-can-the/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [If I stretch my arms and wonder where my fingers are - that is all the space I need as a painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/if-i-stretch-my-arms-and-wonder-where-my-fingers-are-that-is-all-the/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [The artist fills space with an attitude. The attitude never comes from himself alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-artist-fills-space-with-an-attitude-the-attitude-never-comes-from/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Flesh was the reason why oil painting was invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/flesh-was-the-reason-why-oil-painting-was-invented/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I feel sometimes an American artist must feel, like a baseball player or something - a member of a team writing American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-feel-sometimes-an-american-artist-must-feel-like-a-baseball-player/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Maybe in that earlier phase I was painting the woman in me. Art isn't a wholly masculine occupation, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/maybe-in-that-earlier-phase-i-was-painting-the-woman-in-me-art-isn-t/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Yes, I am influenced by everbody. But every time I put my hands in my pockets I find someone else's fingers there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/yes-i-am-influenced-by-everbody-but-every-time-i-put-my-hands-in-my/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I'd like to get all the colors in the world into one painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-d-like-to-get-all-the-colors-in-the-world-into-one-painting/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Spiritually I am wherever my spirit allows me to be, and that is not necessarily in the future... Art never seems to make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/spiritually-i-am-wherever-my-spirit-allows-me-to-be-and-that-is-not/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) [Explore all 54 Willem de Kooning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I might work on a painting for a month, but it has too look like I painted it in a minute.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willem de Kooning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-but-it-has-too-look-like-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-but-it-has-too-look-like-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/willem-de-kooning-12563_looks_i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-b_1085278.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/willem-de-kooning-12563_looks_i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-b_1085278.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/willem-de-kooning-12563_looks_i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-b_1085278.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I might work on a painting for a month, but it has too look like I painted it in a minute.” — Willem de Kooning", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Willem de Kooning", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I might work on a painting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-but-it-has-too-look-like-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-might-work-on-a-painting-for-a-month-but-it-has-too-look-like-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```