31 Inspirational Painting Quotes by Famous Artists

Quotes are an amazing source of inspiration. That’s why I wanted to share these painting quotes to inspire you and your art.

When you read these quotes, you suddenly realize that the most famous artists also struggled a lot, whether it was with their self-esteem or inspiration and ideas.

In the end, by reading them, one can see that after all, we’re just humans having strengths and weaknesses.

What I find the most inspiring about these painting quotes is that even the artists I admire once struggled and were lost, but they also managed to find inspiration all around them.

So, read on for some inspirational quotes by Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Vincent V. Gogh, Salvador Dali, and others.

Painting quotes by famous artists

“I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.” – Frida Kahlo

“I paint flowers so they will not die.” – Frida Kahlo

“I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.” – Frida Kahlo

“I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.” – Frida Kahlo

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” – Pablo Picasso

“The world today doesn’t make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” – Pablo Picasso

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” – Pablo Picasso

“I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.” – Pablo Picasso

You have to know how to be vulgar. Paint with four-letter words.” – Pablo Picasso

“Painting is a blind man’s profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen.” – Pablo Picasso

“Every now and then one paints a picture that seems to have opened a door and serves as a stepping stone to other things.” – Pablo Picasso

“Painting something that defies the law of the land is good. Painting something that defies the law of the land and the law of gravity at the same time is ideal.” – Banksy

“All you need to paint is a few tools, a little instruction, and a vision in your mind.” – Bob Ross

“The painter will produce pictures of little merit if he takes the works of others as his standard.” – Leonardo da Vinci

“A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people” – Edgar Degas

“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” – Vincent van Gogh

“If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent van Gogh

“The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.” – Vincent van Gogh

“I can’t change the fact that my paintings don’t sell. But the time will come when people will recognize that they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture.” – Vincent van Gogh

“When I have a terrible need of – shall I say the word – religion, then I go out and paint the stars.” – Vincent van Gogh

“Just slap anything on when you see a blank canvas staring you in the face like some imbecile. You don’t know how paralyzing that is, that stare of a blank canvas is, which says to the painter, ‘You can’t do a thing’. The canvas has an idiotic stare and mesmerizes some painters so much that they turn into idiots themselves. Many painters are afraid in front of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real, passionate painter who dares and who has broken the spell of `you can’t’ once and for all.” – Vincent van Gogh

“Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality. ” – Salvador Dali

“Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like; everyone will respect you.” – Salvador Dali

“If you understand your painting beforehand, you might as well not paint it.” – Salvador Dali

“I’m not performing miracles, I’m using up and wasting a lot of paint.” – Claude Monet

“I want to paint the way a bird sings.” – Claude Monet

“Try to forget what objects you have before you – a tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Merely think, ‘Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow,’ and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you your own impression of the scene before you.” – Claude Monet

“No one but myself knows the anxiety I go through and the trouble I give myself to finish paintings which do not satisfy me and seem to please so very few others. ” – Claude Monet

“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” – Edward Hopper

“Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God.” – Rembrandt van Rijn

“Without atmosphere a painting is nothing.” – Rembrandt Van Rijn

What can you learn from these painting quotes?

I hope this quotes about painting will inspire you not to worry about the correct art, or the perfect art, but to create despite all the doubts you may have about your art.

You can also learn that everyone creates art differently, and it’s rarely about the result but about the process of creating where you can get lost and found at the same time.

If you know other inspirational quotes about painting, share them in the comments, and inspire us.