Put light against light - you have nothing. Put dark against dark - you have nothing. It's the contrast of light and dark that each give the other one meaning.
Bob RossRead
We show people that anybody can paint a picture that they're proud of. It may never hang in the Smithsonian, but it will certainly be something that they'll hang in their home and be proud of. And that's what it's all about.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that anyone can create art they feel proud of, regardless of its recognition or status.
Bob Ross's quote highlights the intrinsic value of personal expression through art. He believes that the act of creating something meaningful to oneself is what truly matters, rather than seeking validation from prestigious institutions. The pride and joy that come from making art for one's own enjoyment are central to the experience, reinforcing that creativity is accessible to everyone.
Themes
ArtCreativityExpressionPrideAccessibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a community art class, to encourage students: 'Remember, as Bob Ross said, we show people that anybody can paint a picture that they're proud of.'
More from Bob Ross
All quotes →Everyday's a good day when you paint
Bob RossRead
Ever make mistakes in life? Let's make them birds. Yeah, they're birds now.
Bob RossRead
We don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents.
Bob RossRead
I don't know if anything in nature ever grows exactly the same, but they are always exactly as the way it should be, perfectly itself.
Bob RossRead
It's the imperfections that make something beautiful, that's what makes it different and unique from everything else.
Bob RossRead
Similar quotes
No good to paint in the head - what happens is what happens when you put the paint down - you can only hope that you are alert - ready - to see. What joy it is for paint to become a thing - a being. Believe in this miracle - it is your only hope. To will this transformation is not possible. Only a slow maturation can prepare the hand and eye to become quicker than ever. Ideas about art don't matter. They collapse anyway in front of the painting.
Philip GustonRead
In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
When you write from your gut and let the stuff stay flawed and don't let anybody tell you to make it better, it can end up looking like nothing else.
Louis C. K.Read
Stories have a special way of putting us inside the people, inside the boots of the soldiers. You're absorbed in a way a documentary or nonfiction can't do for you.
Tim O'BrienRead
A handful of works in history have had a direct impact on social policy: one or two works of Dickens, some of Zola, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and, in modern drama, Larry Kramer's 'The Normal Heart.'
Tony KushnerRead
I'm totally crazy, I know that. I don't say that to be a smartass, but I know that that's the very essence of what makes my work good. And I know my work is good. Not everybody likes it, that's fine. I don't do it for everybody. Or anybody. I do it because I can't not do it.
Maurice SendakRead