--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once, after finishing a picture, I…" description: "\"Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop for awhile, take a trip, do things-the next time I thought of this, I found five years had gone..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought_2351580.jpg" --- # Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop… ![“Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop for awhile, take a trip, do things-the next time I thought of this, I found five years had gone by.” quote by Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought_2351580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought_2351580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought_2351580.jpg) > “Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop for awhile, take a trip, do things-the next time I thought of this, I found five years had gone by.” [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. Time passes unnoticed when absorbed in creative work, leading to unexpected gaps between projects. **In simple terms:** Artists can lose track of time while creating. Key Takeaway Be mindful of breaks and schedule rest. Themes creativity time focus Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - studio work - travel planning - career pacing - personal health Key Concepts artistic immersion life balance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance creation with rest? - What routines help you track time? A Different Perspective Creative flow can cause neglect of practical needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Finishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finishing/) [Finishing Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finishing-picture-3190314/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-time/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-thought-4552571/) [Thought Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-years-962534/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-thought/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-gone-334559/) ## Related quotes > [There were days that I worked all the time, without a layoff, or a rest, finishing one picture and reporting for another sometimes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tierney/there-were-days-that-i-worked-all-the-time-without-a-layoff-or-a-rest/) [Gene Tierney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tierney/) > [A picture is not thought out and settled beforehand. While it is being done it changes as one's thoughts change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-picture-is-not-thought-out-and-settled-beforehand-while-it-is-being/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“One day we will all be a photo, a lifeless picture! But this thought is valid only for now, it may not be valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/one-day-we-will-all-be-a-photo-a-lifeless-picture-but-this-thought-is/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it - a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/when-i-am-finishing-a-picture-i-hold-some-god-made-object-up-to-it-a/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/when-i-am-finishing-a-picture-i-hold-some-god-made-object-up-to-it/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [“Some things you found just when you needed them, and Solo thought of the years that had passed so swiftly with his friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/some-things-you-found-just-when-you-needed-them-and-solo-thought-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“she thought of all the years that had led up to this—all those seconds and minutes and hours, spent elsewhere, with others, doing other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-barnett/she-thought-of-all-the-years-that-had-led-up-to-this-all-those/) [Laura Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-barnett/) > [A lot of my movies have come to be thought about only years after the fact, and I'm sad about that but also happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/a-lot-of-my-movies-have-come-to-be-thought-about-only-years-after-the/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [When I started working on 'Stay With Me,' I thought it would take two years to complete the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayobami-adebayo/when-i-started-working-on-stay-with-me-i-thought-it-would-take-two/) [Ayobami Adebayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayobami-adebayo/) > [I used to think that cyberspace was fifty years away. What I thought was fifty years away, was only ten years away. And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/i-used-to-think-that-cyberspace-was-fifty-years-away-what-i-thought/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [I have thought for years environmental issues need to be depoliticized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-r-wheeler/i-have-thought-for-years-environmental-issues-need-to-be-depoliticized/) [Andrew R. Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-r-wheeler/) > [“He thought of these years as another life within the one he had. As though it were a thing he was able to carry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yoon/he-thought-of-these-years-as-another-life-within-the-one-he-had-as/) [Paul Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yoon/) > [“Despite everything he had or might have (except, of course, another human being), life gave no promise of improvement or even of change. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-matheson/despite-everything-he-had-or-might-have-except-of-course-another/) [Richard Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-matheson/) > [“I thought of all the years I had spent thinking about him, wondering if he would ever come back to me. And I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-shannon/i-thought-of-all-the-years-i-had-spent-thinking-about-him-wondering/) [Samantha Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-shannon/) > [“I would guess that he thought and thought for at least ten years before he came up with a stupendous idea, that glory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/i-would-guess-that-he-thought-and-thought-for-at-least-ten-years/) [Soseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) ## 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](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. 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": "Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop for awhile, take a trip, do things-the next time I thought of this, I found five years had gone by.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willem de Kooning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought-i-would-stop-for-awhile-take/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought-i-would-stop-for-awhile-take/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought_2351580.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought_2351580.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/willem-de-kooning-12563_art_once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought_2351580.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once, after finishing a picture, I thought I would stop for awhile, take a trip, do things-the next time I…” — 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": "Once, after finishing a picture, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought-i-would-stop-for-awhile-take/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/once-after-finishing-a-picture-i-thought-i-would-stop-for-awhile-take/#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 } } ] } ```