--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each painting has its own way of…" description: "\"Each painting has its own way of evolving. When the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself.\" — William Baziotes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/william-baziotes-32848_art_each-painting-has-its-own-way-of-evolvin_1066214.jpg" --- # Each painting has its own way of evolving. When the… ![“Each painting has its own way of evolving. When the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself.” quote by William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/william-baziotes-32848_art_each-painting-has-its-own-way-of-evolvin_1066214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/william-baziotes-32848_art_each-painting-has-its-own-way-of-evolvin_1066214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/william-baziotes-32848_art_each-painting-has-its-own-way-of-evolvin_1066214.jpg) > “Each painting has its own way of evolving. When the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself.” [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art evolves as the creator works, and the finished piece reveals its true subject and meaning. **In simple terms:** Art changes, then shows its meaning. Key Takeaway Observe the process to understand the final work. Themes creativity revelation process Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - art criticism - creative workshops - gallery tours Key Concepts art theory visual perception Questions to Reflect On - What does the subject mean to you? - How does the process affect your perception? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective, limiting a single “true” subject. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [A painting is finished when the subject comes back, when what has caused the painting to be made comes back as an object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/a-painting-is-finished-when-the-subject-comes-back-when-what-has/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [“(How do you know a piece is finished?:) It's never finished. The subject is never exhausted. -Louise Bourgeois”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-greenberg/how-do-you-know-a-piece-is-finished-it-s-never-finished-the-subject/) [Jan Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-greenberg/) > [I consider my painting finished when my eyes goes to a particular spot on the canvas. But if I put the picture away about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/i-consider-my-painting-finished-when-my-eyes-goes-to-a-particular/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [ “Finally, when someone asked \[Pollack\] how he knew when a painting was finished, he replied, “How do you know when you’ve finished making love?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-wetzsteon/finally-when-someone-asked-pollack-how-he-knew-when-a-painting-was/) [Ross Wetzsteon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-wetzsteon/) > [Painting is a way of thinking visually, so whatever is happening with me at the time gets reflected in the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-banisadr/painting-is-a-way-of-thinking-visually-so-whatever-is-happening-with/) [Ali Banisadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-banisadr/) > [For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rouault/for-me-painting-is-a-way-to-forget-life-it-is-a-cry-in-the-night-a/) [Georges Rouault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rouault/) > [I can't let things go when it comes to stop painting. It has to be my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ackermann/i-can-t-let-things-go-when-it-comes-to-stop-painting-it-has-to-be-my/) [Rita Ackermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ackermann/) > [ When I've painted a woman's bottom so that I want to touch it, then \[the painting\] is finished. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/when-i-ve-painted-a-woman-s-bottom-so-that-i-want-to-touch-it-then/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [To put it as simply as possible - and this is a simple answer, not a total answer - I know when a painting's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/to-put-it-as-simply-as-possible-and-this-is-a-simple-answer-not-a/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [A painting is finished when to have done less would be considered a sin and more a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-godwin/a-painting-is-finished-when-to-have-done-less-would-be-considered-a/) [Ted Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-godwin/) > [The painting is finished when the idea has disappeared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/the-painting-is-finished-when-the-idea-has-disappeared/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [A painting is finished when the artist says it is finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rembrandt/a-painting-is-finished-when-the-artist-says-it-is-finished/) [Rembrandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rembrandt/) > [“A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gardner/a-painting-is-never-finished-it-simply-stops-in-interesting-places/) Paul Gardner > [I paint very directly. I go from top to bottom. When I get to the floor, the painting is finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-welliver/i-paint-very-directly-i-go-from-top-to-bottom-when-i-get-to-the-floor/) Neil Welliver > [When a painting is finished, it's like a new born child, and the artist himself must have time for understanding. How then do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-a-painting-is-finished-it-s-like-a-new-born-child-and-the-artist/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## More by William Baziotes > [Let the poet dream his dreams. Yet, the poet must look at the world; must enter into other men's lives; must look at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/let-the-poet-dream-his-dreams-yet-the-poet-must-look-at-the-world/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [I consider my painting finished when my eyes goes to a particular spot on the canvas. But if I put the picture away about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/i-consider-my-painting-finished-when-my-eyes-goes-to-a-particular/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [One can begin a picture and carry it through and stop it and do nothing about the title at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/one-can-begin-a-picture-and-carry-it-through-and-stop-it-and-do/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [As for the subject matter in my painting.. ..it is very often an incidental thing in the background, elusive and unclear, that really stirred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/as-for-the-subject-matter-in-my-painting-it-is-very-often-an/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [There is always an unconscious collaboration among artists.. ..the artist who imagine himself a Robinson Crusoe is either a primitive or a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/there-is-always-an-unconscious-collaboration-among-artists-the-artist/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [I kept.. ..returning to the (ancient Roman) wall paintings with their veiled melancholy and elegant plasticity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/i-kept-returning-to-the-ancient-roman-wall-paintings-with-their/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [One hundred artists introduce us to one hundred worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/one-hundred-artists-introduce-us-to-one-hundred-worlds/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [The large gray spiked form rising from the bottom of the picture is to me the symbol of death and ruin. And finally the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/the-large-gray-spiked-form-rising-from-the-bottom-of-the-picture-is/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [I can not evolve any concrete theory about painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/i-can-not-evolve-any-concrete-theory-about-painting/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [In the beginning I drew and painted from nature in order to know her. Then later, only to fall under her spell. And today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from-nature-in-order-to-know-her/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [The eye seems to be responding to something living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/the-eye-seems-to-be-responding-to-something-living/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [It is the mysterious that I love in painting. It is the stillness and the silence. I want my pictures to take effect very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/it-is-the-mysterious-that-i-love-in-painting-it-is-the-stillness-and/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [I think when a man first discovers that two and two is four, there is 'beauty' in that; and we can see why. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/i-think-when-a-man-first-discovers-that-two-and-two-is-four-there-is/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) > [Whereas certain people start with a recollection or an experience and paint that experience, to some of us the act of doing is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/whereas-certain-people-start-with-a-recollection-or-an-experience-and/) [William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) [Explore all 15 William Baziotes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/) ## 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": "Each painting has its own way of evolving. 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