When you stop doing something, it doesn't mean you are rejecting the previous work. That's the mistake; it's not rejecting it, it's saying, 'I have exploited it enough now and I wish to take a look at another corner.'
David HockneyRead
Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Drawing requires forethought and planning, similar to the strategic thinking in chess.
In this quote, David Hockney compares the act of drawing to playing chess, emphasizing that both activities involve a significant amount of mental foresight. Just as a chess player must anticipate their opponent's moves and plan their own strategies, an artist must think ahead while creating, visualizing their next strokes and the overall composition before executing them on paper.
Themes
DrawingChessArtCreativityStrategy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during an art class to inspire students about the thought process behind drawing.
More from David Hockney
All quotes →I'm interested in all kinds of pictures, however they are made, with cameras, with paint brushes, with computers, with anything.
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I've always wanted to be able to paint the dawn.
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My only worry is the painting I'm doing. Nothing else.
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In fact, most artists want to make things a bit more difficult for themselves as they go along, to challenge themselves.
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I can get excitement watching rain on a puddle. And then I paint it. Now, I admit, there are not too many people who would find that exciting. But I would. And I want life thrilling and rich. And it is. I make sure it is.
David HockneyRead
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