--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The drawings don't start with 'a…" description: "\"The drawings don't start with 'a beautiful mark'. It has to be a mark of something out there in the world. It doesn't have to be an accurate drawing, b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/william-kentridge-42193_abstract_the-drawings-don-t-start-with-a-beautifu_127995.jpg" --- # The drawings don't start with 'a beautiful mark'. It has… ![“The drawings don't start with 'a beautiful mark'. It has to be a mark of something out there in the world. It doesn't have to be an accurate drawing, but it has to stand for an observation, not something that is abstract, like an emotion.” quote by William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/william-kentridge-42193_abstract_the-drawings-don-t-start-with-a-beautifu_127995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/william-kentridge-42193_abstract_the-drawings-don-t-start-with-a-beautifu_127995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/229/william-kentridge-42193_abstract_the-drawings-don-t-start-with-a-beautifu_127995.jpg) > “The drawings don't start with 'a beautiful mark'. It has to be a mark of something out there in the world. It doesn't have to be an accurate drawing, but it has to stand for an observation, not something that is abstract, like an emotion.” [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should start from an observation of the world, not from abstract emotion; it must represent something seen. **In simple terms:** Art begins with observation, not just feeling. Key Takeaway Base art on real observations. Themes art observation creativity representation Mood inspired thoughtful Type practical philosophical When to use this quote - drawing - design - education Key Concepts visual arts Practical Applications - sketch from life - study subjects Questions to Reflect On - What observation inspires you? - How do you translate observation into art? A Different Perspective Abstract art also has value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Accurate drawing, accurate colour, is perhaps not the essential thing to aim at, because the reflection of reality in a mirror, if it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/accurate-drawing-accurate-colour-is-perhaps-not-the-essential-thing/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Live, learn, and leave a beautiful mark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-fields/live-learn-and-leave-a-beautiful-mark/) [L.M. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-fields/) > [To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful ... was a mark of the Greek spirit...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/to-rejoice-in-life-to-find-the-world-beautiful-was-a-mark-of-the/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [“‎"You are the author for your life and you only get one chance to leave a beautiful mark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-fields/you-are-the-author-for-your-life-and-you-only-get-one-chance-to-leave/) [L.M. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-fields/) > [Everything beautiful has a mark of eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/everything-beautiful-has-a-mark-of-eternity/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Beautiful was it to mark how the poorest began to improve in personal appearance immediately after they came to our Class; how they gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gibson-paton/beautiful-was-it-to-mark-how-the-poorest-began-to-improve-in-personal/) [John Gibson Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gibson-paton/) > [I am only an artist, my job is to make drawings not to make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/i-am-only-an-artist-my-job-is-to-make-drawings-not-to-make-sense/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [The absurd, with its rupture of rationality-of conventional ways of seeing the world-is in fact an accurate and a productive way of understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/the-absurd-with-its-rupture-of-rationality-of-conventional-ways-of/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [If you don't use an image now you might have a place to put it in further down the line - and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-pettibon/if-you-don-t-use-an-image-now-you-might-have-a-place-to-put-it-in/) [Raymond Pettibon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-pettibon/) > [I suppose we carry photographs now, but I think it's rather wonderful that people used to carry drawings and watercolours. 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The walls of both rooms were hung with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton/the-stranger-drew-the-curtains-round-the-bed-took-up-the-light-and/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [“His drawings were not originals then, only copies. 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The ethical and moral questions...in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/the-uncertain-and-imprecise-way-of-constructing-a-drawing-is/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [It’s always been in between the things I thought I was doing that the real work has happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/it-s-always-been-in-between-the-things-i-thought-i-was-doing-that-the/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [I'm interested in machines that make you aware of the process of seeing and aware of what you do when you construct the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/i-m-interested-in-machines-that-make-you-aware-of-the-process-of/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [Forgetting is natural, remembering is the effort one makes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/forgetting-is-natural-remembering-is-the-effort-one-makes/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [The absurd, with its rupture of rationality-of conventional ways of seeing the world-is in fact an accurate and a productive way of understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/the-absurd-with-its-rupture-of-rationality-of-conventional-ways-of/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [My grandfather was a member of Parliament for 40 years. 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