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Good Picture Quotes

What separates a good picture from the rest

This page gathers quotes about what makes a good picture, from a painter always eager to start the next canvas to the incidental detail behind a good lie.

Drawing a good picture is like telling a really good lie - the key is in the incidental detail.

Quotes by Shaun Tan

Don't get between me and a really good picture in the darkroom, because then I want to go straight to the darkroom and develop it. But once that's done, I'm fine.

Quotes by Sally Mann

It's far better to shoot a good picture than a good-looking picture.

Quotes by Robert Richardson

Every good picture leaves the painter eager to start again, unsatisfied, inspired by the rich mine in which he is working, hoping for more energy, more vitality, more time - condemned to painting for life.

Quotes by John French Sloan

Arresting Quotes

A couple of seats at a good picture house cost comparatively little but give a generous return in the shape of freshened minds and freedom from the worries that even the best regulated homes cannot always avoid.

Quotes by Ivor Novello

A really good picture looks as if it's happened at once. It's an immediate image.

Quotes by Helen Frankenthaler

A good picture book should have events that are visually arresting - the pictures should call attention to what is happening in the story.

Quotes by Chris Van Allsburg

I've certainly always had a very high regard for Botswana and so I paint a very good picture of the country and I've never pretended to be painting an entirely realistic picture.

Quotes by Alexander McCall Smith

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a good picture according to these quotes?
They point to restless creative drive, careful incidental detail, and choosing real substance over surface-level polish.
Is there a quote about a painter's ongoing drive?
Yes, one quote says every good picture leaves a painter eager and unsatisfied, ready to start the next one immediately.
Does a quote compare a good picture to storytelling?
Yes, one line compares drawing a good picture to telling a really good lie, where incidental detail is the real key.
Is there a quote about the darkroom process?
Yes, one photographer admits wanting to rush straight to the darkroom once a truly good picture is captured.
Does any quote separate good from good-looking?
Yes, one line argues that real substance in a photograph matters more than merely polished, surface-level appeal. See also Best Quotes.

Another line describes rushing straight to the darkroom to develop a great shot, and one insists a good picture always beats a merely good-looking one.