I can't live where I want to, I can't go where I want to go, I can't do what I want to, I can't even say what I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to.
Georgia O'KeeffeRead
Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. Since I cannot sing, I paint.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Singing is the highest form of expression for the speaker, followed by the violin, and since the speaker cannot sing, they choose to express themselves through painting.
In this quote, Georgia O'Keeffe expresses her belief that singing embodies the purest and most spontaneous form of artistic expression. She acknowledges her inability to sing, yet finds solace and a means of communication in painting, demonstrating the diverse ways individuals seek to convey their emotions and ideas through art.
Themes
SingingExpressionArtCreativityPainting
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speech about the importance of finding your unique form of expression.
More from Georgia O'Keeffe
All quotes βI found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.
Georgia O'KeeffeRead
You are one of my nicest thoughts.
Georgia O'KeeffeRead
It was in the 1920s, when nobody had time to reflect, that I saw a still-life painting with a flower that was perfectly exquisite, but so small you really could not appreciate it.
Georgia O'KeeffeRead
Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression.
Georgia O'KeeffeRead
Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good in the abstract sense. A hill or tree cannot make a good painting just because it is a hill or tree. It is lines and colors put together so that they may say something.
Georgia O'KeeffeRead
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