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Georgia O'Keeffe Quotes

Artist

American artist known for her distinctive paintings of flowers and landscapes. O'Keeffe's work is renowned for its bold colors and innovative forms, which have had a profound impact on 20th-century American art.

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All Flower Art Painting Paint Thinking World People Ifs Artist Knows Way Feels Want Ideas Decided I Can Inspirational Seems Beautiful Important

Famous Georgia O'Keeffe Quotes

“School and things that painters have taught me even keep me from painting as I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to be at least paint as I wanted to and say what I wanted to when I painted as that seemed to be the only thing I could do that didn't concern anybody but myself. I found that I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn't say in any other way things that I had no words for.”

Way Want Wanted School Found Stupid Taught Painting Fool Shapes Concern Decided Paint Painter Colour Very Stupid

Author:Georgia O'Keeffe

“I realized that I had things in my head not like what I had been taught - not like what I had seen - shapes and ideas so familiar to me that it hadn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided to stop painting, to put away everything I had done, and to start to say the things that were my own.”

Ideas Done My Own Taught Painting Shapes Decided I Realized Familiar

Book:Some Memories of Drawings

Source: Some Memories of Drawings

“I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.”

Ifs Art Flower Huge Decided Paint Scales If I Could Woman Artist

Author:Georgia O'Keeffe

“I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught.”

Learning Taught Flower Letting Go Decided Georgia Starting Anew Charcoal

Book:Georgia O'Keeffe: nature and abstraction

Source: Georgia O'Keeffe: nature and abstraction

“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.”

Want I Can Wanted Stupid Fool Decided Paint Very Stupid

Book:Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life

Source: Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life

“I decided to accept as true my own thinking.”

Thinking My Own Accepting Decided

Book:Georgia O'Keeffe & her contemporaries: Amarillo Art Center, September 7-December 1, 1985 in honor of the 75th anniversary of West Texas State University

Source: Georgia O'Keeffe & her contemporaries: Amarillo Art Center, September 7-December 1, 1985 in honor of the 75th anniversary of West Texas State University

“I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to.”

Wanted Stupid Fool Decided Paint Very Stupid

Book:Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life

Source: Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life

“I decided to start anew-to strip away what I had been taught, to accept as true my own thinking. This was one of the best times of my life. There was no one around to look at what I was doing, no one interested, no one to say anything about it one way or another. I was alone and singularly free, working into my own, unknown-no one to satisfy but myself. I began with charcoal and paper and decided not to use any color until it was impossible to do what I wanted to do in black and white. I believe it was June before I needed blue.”