Paint the flying spirit of the bird rather than its feathers.
Robert HenriRead
The sketch hunter moves through life as he finds it, not passing negligently the things he loves, but stopping to know them, and to note them down in the shorthand of his sketchbook.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and appreciation for beauty in everyday life.
Robert Henri suggests that a true artist engages deeply with the world around them, taking the time to appreciate and document the things they love. Rather than rushing through life, they observe and capture moments of beauty and meaning, transforming them into art through careful attention and reflection.
Themes
ArtMindfulnessAppreciationBeautyCreativitySketching
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during an art class to inspire students to observe their surroundings more closely.
More from Robert Henri
All quotes →Know what the old masters did. Know how they composed their pictures, but do not fall into the conventions they established. These conventions were right for them, and they are wonderful. They made their language. You make yours. All the past can help you.
Robert HenriRead
You form a society: that limits you. Adopt a name, and you've limited yourself again; draw up a constitution and bylaws and you've made a groove, a rut, that hampers your growth. You think you can fix your course and move straight along it. But sometimes the important thing is to strike out sidewise.
Robert HenriRead
After all, the goal is not making art. It is living a life. Those who live their lives will leave the stuff that is really art.
Robert HenriRead
Do not let the fact that things are not made for you, that conditions are not as they should be stop you. Go on anyway. Everything depends on those who go on anyway.
Robert HenriRead
Drawing is not following a line on the model, it is drawing your sense of the thing.
Robert HenriRead
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The arts and inventions of each period are only its costume, and do not invigorate men.
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