15+ Kimon Nicolaides Quotes On Draw

Kimon Nicolaides was an American author, educator, and artist. He is best known for his book The Natural Way to Draw, which has become a classic in the teaching of drawing. He was an influential figure in the development of the visual arts in the United States in the 20th century. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Kimon Nicolaides on life, love, draw.

To understand theory is not enough. Much practice is necessary. — Kimon Nicolaides

Committing oneself to a technique causes stagnation. — Kimon Nicolaides

You cannot govern the creative impulse; all you can do is eliminate obstacles and smooth the way for it. — Kimon Nicolaides

You should draw not what the thing looks like, not even what it is, but what it is doing... Gesture has no precise edges, no forms. The forms are in the act of changing. Gesture is movement in space. — Kimon Nicolaides

Technique should be taught, not as an end in itself, but as something related to individual expression, as a means toward an end. One cannot separate technique from expression. There is only expression. — Kimon Nicolaides

When we use numbers we are using symbols, and it is only when we transfer them to life that they become actualities. The same is true with drawing and painting. They are to be learned, not as rules, but as actualities. Then the rules become appropriate. — Kimon Nicolaides

Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see - to see correctly - and that means a good deal more than merely looking with the eye. — Kimon Nicolaides

The sooner you make your first five thousand mistakes the sooner you will be able to correct them. — Kimon Nicolaides

There is only one right way to draw... physical contact with all sorts of objects through all the senses. — Kimon Nicolaides

There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off. You have to start where he started... at the beginning. — Kimon Nicolaides

Art should be concerned more with life than with art. — Kimon Nicolaides

Man can make only the rules. He cannot make the laws, which are the laws of nature. It is the understanding of these laws that enables a student to draw. — Kimon Nicolaides

All that you need in the way of technique for drawing is bound up in the technique of seeing - that is, of understanding, which after all is mainly dependent on feeling. If you attempt to see in the way prescribed by any mechanical system of drawing, old or new, you will lose the understanding of the fundamental impulse. Your drawing becomes a meaningless diagram and the time so spent is wasted. — Kimon Nicolaides

You are not to think of painting as something separate from drawing. — Kimon Nicolaides

Merely to see... is not enough. It is necessary to have a fresh, vivid, physical contact with the object you draw through as many of the senses as possible - and especially through the sense of touch. — Kimon Nicolaides

Life Lessons by Kimon Nicolaides

1. Kimon Nicolaides emphasizes the importance of learning from the past and understanding the fundamentals of art in order to create meaningful work.
2. He also encourages artists to be creative and to experiment with different techniques and materials.
3. Lastly, he stresses the importance of developing one’s own style and using it to create unique works of art.