100+ Quotes from World-Famous Painters for Inspiration

Explore over 100 inspirational quotes from legendary painters like Van Gogh, Picasso, Da Vinci, and Matisse. Discover their thoughts on creativity, passion, and the true essence of art. A must-read for artists, designers, and art lovers seeking motivation and insight!

Insights and Inspirations from Legendary Painters

1. “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
2. “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” – Vincent van Gogh
3. “The artist sees what others only catch a glimpse of.” – Leonardo da Vinci
4. “Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” – Henry Ward Beecher
5. “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” – Pablo Picasso
6. “Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
7. “A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” – Salvador Dalí
8. “Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso
9. “A painting is a poem without words.” – Horace
10. “Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings.” – Wassily Kandinsky
11. “There is no must in art because art is free.” – Wassily Kandinsky
12. “I shut my eyes in order to see.” – Paul Gauguin
13. “The more I paint, the more I like everything.” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
14. “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent van Gogh
15. “The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.” – Vincent van Gogh
16. “A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” – Paul Cézanne
17. “I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.” – Vincent van Gogh
18. “To create one’s own world takes courage.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
19. “Simplicity is not an objective in art, but one achieves simplicity despite one’s self by entering into the real sense of things.” – Constantin Brâncuși
20. “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas
21. “Painting is an illusion, a piece of magic, so what you see is not what you see.” – Philip Guston
22. “I paint flowers so they will not die.” – Frida Kahlo
23. “The more you reason, the less you create.” – Raymond Chandler
24. “A picture is a thing which requires as much cunning, trickery, and deceit as the perpetration of a crime.” – Edgar Degas
25. “I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.” – Henri Matisse
26. “I feel there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” – Vincent van Gogh
27. “Art is a harmony parallel with nature.” – Paul Cézanne
28. “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent van Gogh
29. “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” – Pablo Picasso
30. “The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.” – Alberto Giacometti
31. “What is commonly called ugliness in nature can in art become full of beauty.” – Auguste Rodin
32. “I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best.” – Frida Kahlo
33. “The world today doesn’t make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” – Pablo Picasso
34. “If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.” – Marc Chagall
35. “An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success.” – Henri Matisse
36. “One must always draw, draw with the eyes, when one cannot draw with a pencil.” – Balthus
37. “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” – Vincent van Gogh
38. “There are things that are not sayable. That’s why we have art.” – Leonora Carrington
39. “When I paint, I never think of selling. People cannot imagine how it is to have a true passion for painting.” – Artemisia Gentileschi
40. “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt.” – Leonardo da Vinci
    
41. “To be an artist is to believe in life.” – Henry Moore
42. “The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.” – Francis Bacon
43. “Art is a line around your thoughts.” – Gustav Klimt
44. “I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.” – Frida Kahlo
45. “The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle
46. “I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living.” – Robert Henri
47. “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” – Pablo Picasso
48. “Do not be afraid. Everything will be fine. Trust yourself.” – Claude Monet
49. “A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy.” – Edgar Degas
50. “There is no blue without yellow and without orange.” – Vincent van Gogh
51. “Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God.” – Rembrandt
52. “Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye… it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.” – Edvard Munch
53. “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton
54. “The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them.” – Anton Chekhov
55. “Art should be something that liberates your soul.” – Keith Haring
56. “Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
57. “One eye sees, the other feels.” – Paul Klee
58. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
59. “Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model.” – Vincent van Gogh
60. “Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” – Twyla Tharp
61. “The painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.” – Paul Valéry
62. “There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who transform a yellow spot into the sun.” – Pablo Picasso
63. “Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is.” – Jackson Pollock
64. “Art is the stored honey of the human soul.” – Theodore Dreiser
65. “I am seeking the bridge which leans from the visible to the invisible through reality.” – Max Beckmann
66. “To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow.” – Kurt Vonnegut
67. “Everything starts from a dot.” – Wassily Kandinsky
68. “The artist is not a special kind of person; rather each person is a special kind of artist.” – Ananda Coomaraswamy
69. “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams
70. “The purpose of art is to make the invisible visible.” – Paul Klee
71. “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” – Oscar Wilde
72. “Every good painter paints what he is.” – Jackson Pollock
73. “My hand is the extension of the thinking process.” – Tadao Ando
74. “I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.” – Frida Kahlo
75. “Every artist has his own unique reason for painting.” – Amedeo Modigliani
76. “If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.” – Edward Hopper
77. “Life obliges me to do something, so I paint.” – Rene Magritte
78. “Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality.” – Salvador Dalí
79. “Art is not freedom from discipline, but disciplined freedom.” – John F. Kennedy
80. “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” – Leonardo da Vinci
81. “I just feel that my painting is to be enjoyed.” – Howard Hodgkin
82. “Art is to console those who are broken by life.” – Vincent van Gogh
83. “I wanted to paint what I felt, and I felt like painting.” – Joan Miró
84. “I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.” – Salvador Dalí
85. “Art is made to disturb, science reassures.” – Georges Braque
86. “The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.” – Hans Hofmann
87. “Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.” – Edgar Degas
88. “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo
89. “There are no rules in art.” – Wassily Kandinsky
90. “An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.” – James Whistler
91. “We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.” – Pablo Picasso
92. “Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” – Leo Tolstoy
93. “I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.” – Frida Kahlo
94. “A line is a dot that went for a walk.” – Paul Klee
95. “The important thing is to pick up a brush and start painting.” – Bob Ross
96. “Painting is a source of endless pleasure, but also of great torment.” – Balthus
97. “I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.” – Joan Miró
98. “If you see a tree as blue, then make it blue.” – Paul Gauguin
99. “There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.” – Mark Rothko
100. “I prefer living in color.” – David Hockney

As we reflect on the timeless wisdom shared by these legendary artists, we are reminded of the power of creativity and the passion that drives artistic expression. Each quote offers a glimpse into the heart and soul of the masters who shaped the art world, inspiring us to push boundaries, embrace our unique perspectives, and continue exploring the limitless potential of our craft. Let these words serve as a guiding light, reminding us that art is not just an act of creation, but a journey of self-discovery and profound connection to the world around us.