Quotation
Quote by Etel Adnan
I write what I see, I paint what I am.
Explore the idea
Understanding this quote
The speaker presents writing and painting as direct expressions of personal experience and identity. “What I see” points to the world as it appears to them, while “what I am” points to the self they bring into their work. Together, the lines suggest that both forms reveal the artist’s perception and character.
Source & trust
About this quotation
- Source
- The Paris Review
- Format
- Article
Explore the idea
Topics
Join the community
Keep meaningful words close.
Save quotes, follow people and topics, join conversations, and publish words of your own.
“Yo no soy ninguna autoridad de nada; ni siquiera me creo Lola La Grande, que me lo puso mi amiga Chabuca Granda; sólo quiero seguir proyectando mi música como hasta ahora lo hago...”
Read quote“I myself have had many failures and I've learned that if you are not failing a lot, you are probably not being as creative as you could be.”
“Hoy en día un cine perfecto —técnica y artísticamente logrado— es casi siempre un cine reaccionario.”
“What Mum and Dad gave us was the power of imagination.”
“I became a filmmaker by accident.”
“I've decided that my process consists of throwing myself at the computer often enough that writing happens.”
“The cinema would be a refuge for me.”
“Somewhere in the middle is the vital language we Africans use: it is a synthesis of two literary experiences.”
“Once you start caring about what other people think, in terms of music, I don’t think that’s very true. But the minute you start doing for yourself, people’s opinions fall away and they’re not as important.”
“I try not to follow the same formula twice.”
Leave Room for Tomorrow
After her bold lettering is rejected, a sign painter opens a free studio where nobody has to be finished to belong.
Read Story