Our Collection of Observation Quotes
I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.
Christopher Isherwood
Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.
Marcus Aurelius
All of us are watchers – of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway – but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.
Peter M. Leschak
Observation, not old age, brings wisdom.
Publilius Syrus
The most satisfying and most basic art experience is looking – pure, unmediated observation and sensation.
Roy Thurston
The faculty of creating is never given to us all by itself. It always goes hand in hand with the gift of observation.
Igor Stravinsky
Seeing is the consequence of optics; observing is the consequence of imaginative contemplation.
Ian Semple
Art demands constant observation.
Vincent van Gogh
Accuracy of observation is the equivalent of accuracy of thinking.
Wallace Stevens
There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language.
Sir William Osler
Sometimes it is the quiet observer who sees the most.
Kathryn L. Nelson
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw
You can observe a lot by just watching.
Yogi Berra
There are no secrets, no formulas. It’s just a matter of looking carefully.
Colin Poole
If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes.
Pablo Picasso
Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. stay eager.
Susan Sontag
One can only see what one observes, and one observes only things which are already in the mind.
Alphonse Bertillon
To linger in the observation of things, other than the self, implies a profound conviction of their worth.
Charles-Damian Boulogne
Paying attention to the world around you will help you develop the extraordinary capacity to look at mundane things and see the miraculous.
Michael Michalko
A few observation and much reasoning lead to error; many observations and a little reasoning to truth.
Alexis Carrel
The child does not merely observe the world around him. He does not shut himself off from the strange, complicated world around him, but tastes it, touches it, hefts it, bends it, breaks it. To find out how reality works, he works on it.
John Holt
Observation and study are necessary to achieve mastery of light and form.
Andrew Loomis
Observe ‘what is’ with undivided awareness.
Bruce Lee
We cannot create observers by saying ‘observe’, but by giving them the power and the means for this observation and these means are procured through education of the senses.
Maria Montessori
A paradox is a seeming contradiction, always demanding a change on the side of the observer. If we look at almost all things honestly we see everything has a character of paradox to it. Everything, including ourselves.
Richard Rohr
Extreme observation serves artists very well – perhaps it is the best teacher.
Cynde Roof
To be able to observe with a stranger’s eye helps one to see with an artist’s eye. What alienates us inspires.
Jean Rostand
I made a promise to keep a watch over myself, to remain master of myself, so that I might become a sure observer.
Paul Gauguin
Facts have to be discovered by observation, not by reasoning.
Bertrand Russell
Observation is an old man’s memory.
Jonathan Swift
The observation of nature is part of an artist’s life, it enlarges his form and knowledge, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration.
Henry Moore
Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it ‘creative observation.
William S. Burroughs
Seeing artistically does not happen automatically. We must constantly develop our powers of observation.
Eugene Delacroix
To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.
Mary Oliver
What other observation quotes would you add to the list? Leave a comment!
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This Post Has 4 Comments
Piccaso’s art during 1915-1917 is the best I would say. He combines reality with abstract cubism which is in my opinion, a higher form of art and is being used up until now.
Agreed! Not only a great artist, but great at expressing himself as well.
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