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
I long ago came to the conclusion that even if I could put down accurately the thing I saw and enjoyed, it would not give the observer the kind of feeling it gave me. I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at-not copy it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of expressing feelings rather than merely replicating external appearances in art.
Georgia O'Keeffe suggests that true artistic expression must convey the artist's emotional experience rather than just serve as a mere representation of what is observed. This idea underlines the belief that art should capture subjective feelings and perspectives, providing viewers with an emotional connection rather than a straightforward depiction.
Themes
ArtExpressionEmotionCreativityObserver
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at an art exhibition, the quote could serve to inspire artists to convey their true feelings through their work.
More from Georgia O'Keeffe
All quotes →I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.
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You are one of my nicest thoughts.
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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.
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Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression.
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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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