--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're an artist, the problem is to…" description: "\"If you're an artist, the problem is to make a picture work whether you are happy or not.\" — Willem de Kooning" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-ma_1071348.jpg" --- # If you're an artist, the problem is to make a picture work… ![“If you're an artist, the problem is to make a picture work whether you are happy or not.” quote by Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-ma_1071348.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-ma_1071348.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-ma_1071348.jpg) > “If you're an artist, the problem is to make a picture work whether you are happy or not.” [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. He says an artist must create work regardless of personal mood, emphasizing discipline over emotion. **In simple terms:** Artists must work despite mood. Key Takeaway Create consistently. Themes discipline creativity emotion artistic integrity Mood determined reflective Type statement philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - deadline management - creative blocks Key Concepts art theory psychology of creativity Questions to Reflect On - How to balance emotion and work? - Can mood enhance art? A Different Perspective Emotional states can influence quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [A picture is a work of art, not because it is 'modern,' nor because it is 'ancient,' but because it is a sincere expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-carlson/a-picture-is-a-work-of-art-not-because-it-is-modern-nor-because-it-is/) [John F. Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-carlson/) > [...what I try to do is a good bad picture. I work it out very carefully, and then I do something that looks as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-newton/what-i-try-to-do-is-a-good-bad-picture-i-work-it-out-very-carefully/) [Helmut Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-newton/) > [I believe that a picture, a work of art, lives and dies just as we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-believe-that-a-picture-a-work-of-art-lives-and-dies-just-as-we-do/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist while still achieving milestones and outcomes as required by certain funders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/every-child-is-an-artist-the-problem-is-how-to-remain-an-artist-while/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I've always been an artist that has had a problem with genres, staying in the box, and being told what I had to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcdonald/i-ve-always-been-an-artist-that-has-had-a-problem-with-genres-staying/) [Michael McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcdonald/) > [Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/every-child-is-an-artist-the-problem-is-how-to-remain-an-artist-once-2/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [What is not cool is if we have a problem with an artist or if an artist has a problem with us, come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rozonda-thomas/what-is-not-cool-is-if-we-have-a-problem-with-an-artist-or-if-an/) [Rozonda Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rozonda-thomas/) > [“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/every-child-is-an-artist-the-problem-is-how-to-remain-an-artist-once/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Every artist's problem today is: What will we do with the human?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tobey/every-artist-s-problem-today-is-what-will-we-do-with-the-human/) [Mark Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-tobey/) > [I'm not conditioned to be an entertainer. An entertainer pleases others while an artist only has to please himself. The problem with that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/i-m-not-conditioned-to-be-an-entertainer-an-entertainer-pleases/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain one once we grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/every-child-is-an-artist-the-problem-is-how-to-remain-one-once-we/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [There's nothing wrong with technology. It's when technology is the story and not the artist, that's the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-technology-it-s-when-technology-is-the/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [Break any problem into, or make any changes in, small increments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-grant/break-any-problem-into-or-make-any-changes-in-small-increments/) [Anne Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-grant/) > [But the problem is to make the soul into a monster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/but-the-problem-is-to-make-the-soul-into-a-monster/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [If you can't solve a problem, make it bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/if-you-can-t-solve-a-problem-make-it-bigger/) [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 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. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. 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 > [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. 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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're an artist, the problem is to make a picture work whether you are happy or not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willem de Kooning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-make-a-picture-work-whether-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-make-a-picture-work-whether-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-ma_1071348.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-ma_1071348.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-ma_1071348.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're an artist, the problem is to make a picture work whether you are happy or not.” — 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": "If you're an artist, the problem...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-make-a-picture-work-whether-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/if-you-re-an-artist-the-problem-is-to-make-a-picture-work-whether-you/#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 } } ] } ```