If I hadn’t started painting, I would have raised chickens.
Meaning of the quote
Grandma Moses, a famous American artist, said that if she had not started painting, she would have raised chickens instead. This means that she found great joy and fulfillment in being an artist, and she believes that if she had not chosen that path, she would have chosen the simpler life of a chicken farmer. Her quote suggests that pursuing your passion, even if it's unconventional, can lead to a more meaningful and satisfying life.
About Grandma Moses
Grandma Moses, whose real name was Anna Mary Robertson Moses, was an American folk artist who didn’t start painting until the age of 78. Despite her advanced age, she gained immense popularity in the 1950s, appearing on the cover of Time Magazine and having a biographical documentary made about her. Her simple, nostalgic paintings of rural life captivated many and she was awarded two honorary doctoral degrees for her work.
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More quotes from Grandma Moses
If I hadn’t started painting, I would have raised chickens.
American artist (1860-1961)
Painting’s not important. The important thing is keeping busy.
American artist (1860-1961)
I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene.
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A strange thing is memory, and hope; one looks backward, and the other forward; one is of today, the other of tomorrow. Memory is history recorded in our brain, memory is a painter, it paints pictures of the past and of the day.
American artist (1860-1961)
If you know somethin’ well, you can always paint it but people would be better off buyin’ chickens.
American artist (1860-1961)
I look back on my life like a good day’s work, it was done and I am satisfied with it.
American artist (1860-1961)
Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.
American artist (1860-1961)
I paint from the top down. From the sky, then the mountains, then the hills, then the houses, then the cattle, and then the people.
American artist (1860-1961)
A primitive artist is an amateur whose work sells.
American artist (1860-1961)