When I am halfway there with a painting, it can occasionally be thrilling... But it happens very rarely; usually it's agony... I go to great pains to mask the agony. But the struggle is there. It's the invisible enemy.
Richard DiebenkornRead
All paintings start out of a mood, out of a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression. To call this expression abstract seems to me often to confuse the issue. Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract . . . a realistic or non-objective approach makes no difference. The result is what counts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Every painting originates from a personal emotional connection, and the distinction between realism and abstraction is less important than the outcome of the artwork.
Richard Diebenkorn suggests that all art begins from an artist's emotional state and their connection with the world around them, whether that expression is realistic or abstract. By emphasizing that the term 'abstract' can mislead, he asserts that the essence of art lies in its impact rather than the methods used to create it, highlighting that every artist, regardless of style, is engaged in an abstract process of interpreting their experiences.
Themes
ArtEmotionExpressionAbstractImpactArtist
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during an art class to inspire students to trust their emotional responses in their creations.
More from Richard Diebenkorn
All quotes →In a successful painting everything is integral - all the parts belong to the whole. If you remove an aspect or element you are removing its wholeness.
Richard DiebenkornRead
I want a painting to be difficult to do. The more obstacles, obstructions, problems - if they don't overwhelm - the better. I would like to feel that I am involved at any stage of the painting with all its moments, not just this 'now' moment where a superficial grace is so available.
Richard DiebenkornRead
I don't go into the studio with the idea of 'saying' something. What I do is face the blank canvas and put a few arbitrary marks on it that start me on some sort of dialogue.
Richard DiebenkornRead
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