--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the beginning I drew and painted from…" description: "\"In the beginning I drew and painted from nature in order to know her. Then later, only to fall under her spell. And today, to let her mirror my thought..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/william-baziotes-32848_fall_in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from_1942819.jpg" --- # In the beginning I drew and painted from nature in order… ![“In the beginning I drew and painted from nature in order to know her. Then later, only to fall under her spell. And today, to let her mirror my thoughts and feelings.” quote by William Baziotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/william-baziotes-32848_fall_in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from_1942819.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/william-baziotes-32848_fall_in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from_1942819.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/william-baziotes-32848_fall_in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from_1942819.jpg) > “In the beginning I drew and painted from nature in order to know her. Then later, only to fall under her spell. And today, to let her mirror my thoughts and feelings.” [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. He first studied nature to understand it, then was enchanted, now uses it to express inner thoughts. **In simple terms:** Nature first taught, then inspired, now reflects his mind. Key Takeaway Observe, be inspired, then create. Themes art nature self‑expression Mood reflective inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - landscape painting - personal journaling - creative workshops - mindful observation Key Concepts Romanticism perception creativity Questions to Reflect On - How does nature shape your inner voice? - When do you let inner thoughts guide your art? A Different Perspective May become too dependent on external images, limiting originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Thoughts and feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-and-feelings/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [Reality is the mirror of your thoughts, choose well what you put in front of the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sotelo/reality-is-the-mirror-of-your-thoughts-choose-well-what-you-put-in/) [Michael Sotelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sotelo/) > [“The earth is literally a mirror of thoughts. Objects themselves are embodied thoughts. Death is the dark backing that a mirror needs if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-earth-is-literally-a-mirror-of-thoughts-objects-themselves-are/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Don't believe everything negative you hear about yourself, let your mirror be your final judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-goga/don-t-believe-everything-negative-you-hear-about-yourself-let-your/) [Joe Goga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-goga/) > [He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-s-a-funny-man-dumbledore-i-think-he-sort-of-wanted-to-give-me-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...that icy glass reduces your beauty - dims your fire - let me be your mirror...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-icy-glass-reduces-your-beauty-dims-your-fire-let-me-be-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Words themselves are the intimate attire of thoughts and feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elizabeth-gordon/words-themselves-are-the-intimate-attire-of-thoughts-and-feelings/) [Karen Elizabeth Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elizabeth-gordon/) > [That was the worst part about losing someone-finding a place to store all the thoughts and feelings you'd otherwise share with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kass-morgan/that-was-the-worst-part-about-losing-someone-finding-a-place-to-store/) [Kass Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kass-morgan/) > [Expressing your thoughts and feelings to someone else is not as simple as writing it in a book. It takes courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/expressing-your-thoughts-and-feelings-to-someone-else-is-not-as/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) > [When I'm writing, I need to amplify my thoughts and feelings on just a conversation that I might have had with somebody - somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bay/when-i-m-writing-i-need-to-amplify-my-thoughts-and-feelings-on-just-a/) [James Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bay/) > [I cannot express the uneasiness caused in me by this intrusion of mystery and beauty into a room I had at last filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-cannot-express-the-uneasiness-caused-in-me-by-this-intrusion-of/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Over time, with practice, you will become more aware of your thoughts and feelings. You will notice which thoughts and feelings tend to capture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-a-jennings/over-time-with-practice-you-will-become-more-aware-of-your-thoughts/) [Patricia A. Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-a-jennings/) > [“I was frightened of myself, I seemed to have no control over my thoughts and feelings, it was like a sort of madness...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-was-frightened-of-myself-i-seemed-to-have-no-control-over-my/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“Whether your thoughts and feelings are good or bad, they return as automatically and precisely as an echo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/whether-your-thoughts-and-feelings-are-good-or-bad-they-return-as/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [“Often I've thought of myself as a state; a country or, at the very least, a city. It used to seem to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/often-i-ve-thought-of-myself-as-a-state-a-country-or-at-the-very/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [So many of my thoughts and feelings are shared by the English that England has turned into a second native land of the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/so-many-of-my-thoughts-and-feelings-are-shared-by-the-english-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## 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/) > [Each painting has its own way of evolving. When the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/each-painting-has-its-own-way-of-evolving-when-the-painting-is/) [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/) > [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 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 > [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": "In the beginning I drew and painted from nature in order to know her. Then later, only to fall under her spell. And today, to let her mirror my thoughts and feelings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Baziotes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from-nature-in-order-to-know-her/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from-nature-in-order-to-know-her/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/william-baziotes-32848_fall_in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from_1942819.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/william-baziotes-32848_fall_in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from_1942819.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/william-baziotes-32848_fall_in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from_1942819.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the beginning I drew and painted from nature in order to know her. Then later, only to fall under her…” — William Baziotes", "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": "William Baziotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-baziotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the beginning I drew and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from-nature-in-order-to-know-her/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-baziotes/in-the-beginning-i-drew-and-painted-from-nature-in-order-to-know-her/#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 } } ] } ```