I'm a believer in the notion that artists who do good work believe in the ideas of extremes. Wayne Thiebaud More Quotes by Wayne Thiebaud More Quotes From Wayne Thiebaud If we don't have a sense of humor, we lack a sense of perspective Wayne Thiebaud famous-artistperspectivehumor Common objects become strangely uncommon when removed from their context and ordinary ways of being seen. Wayne Thiebaud commonordinaryway I think of myself as a beginner. Sometimes that's the whole joy. If you could just do it, there'd be no point in doing it. Wayne Thiebaud inexperiencejoythinking If you stare at an object, as you do when you paint, there is no point at which you stop learning things from it. Wayne Thiebaud staringobjectspaint My subject matter was a genuine sort of experience that came out of my life, particularly the American world in which I was privileged to be . . . . I would really think of the bakery counters, of the way the counter was lit, where the pies were placed, but I wanted just a piece of the experience. From when I worked in restaurants . . . [it was] always poetic to me. Wayne Thiebaud pieworldthinking I haven't the slightest idea what art is, but to be a painter is something of which you have to prove. Wayne Thiebaud painterideasart Every paint-stroke takes you farther and farther away from your initial concept. And you have to be thankful for that. Wayne Thiebaud inspirationallifeart An artist has to train his responses more than other people do. He has to be as disciplined as a mathematician. Discipline is not a restriction but an aid to freedom. It prepares an artist to choose his own limitations. Wayne Thiebaud disciplineartistpeople Discipline is not a restriction but an aid to freedom. Wayne Thiebaud aidsrestrictiondiscipline I'm not just interested in the pictorial aspects of the landscape - see a pretty place and try to paint it - but in some way to manage it, manipulate it, or see what I can turn it into. Wayne Thiebaud landscapetryingway Commonplace objects are constantly changing… The pies, for example, we now see, are not going to be around forever. We are merely used to the idea that things do not change. Wayne Thiebaud pieforeverideas Art means something very rare, an extraordinary achievement. Wayne Thiebaud achievementmeanart Art is not delivered like the morning paper; it has to be stolen from Mount Olympus. Wayne Thiebaud olympusmorningart Painting is more important than art. Wayne Thiebaud paintingimportantart A conscious decision to eliminate certain details and include selective bits of personal experiences or perceptual nuances, gives the painting more of a multi-dimension than when it is done directly as a visual recording. This results in a kind of abstraction... and thus avoids the pitfalls of mere decoration. Wayne Thiebaud dimensionsdecisiongiving My sin as a painter is that I just want to paint anything I want to paint - and repaint. Wayne Thiebaud paintsinwant When you think of painting as painting it is rather absurd. The real world is before us - glorious sunlight and activity and fresh air, and high speed motor cars and television, all the animation - a world apart from a little square of canvas that you smear paint on. Wayne Thiebaud squaresrealthinking We all need critical confrontation of the fullest and most extreme kind that we can get. You can unnecessarily limit yourself by choosing your criticism. Wayne Thiebaud limitscriticismneeds Morandi gave an intimate view of his deepest thoughts. We watched him inquiring after the devilish questions of essences and substances. Wayne Thiebaud substanceessenceviews An artist needs the best studio instruction, the most rigorous demands, and the toughest criticism in order to tune up his sensibilities. Wayne Thiebaud criticismartistorder
