Welcome to the world of David Hockney, a visionary artist whose profound insights and perspectives have shaped the contemporary art scene for decades. Renowned for his vibrant colors, bold compositions, and keen observations of the world around him, David Hockney’s influence transcends the boundaries of traditional art forms. From his iconic swimming pool paintings to his explorations of digital art, Hockney’s work reflects a deep curiosity about the nature of perception, space, and human connection.
Throughout his career, David Hockney has shared his thoughts on art, creativity, and life itself through a series of insightful quotes that resonate with artists and enthusiasts alike. His words capture the essence of his artistic philosophy and offer valuable wisdom for those seeking inspiration or guidance in their own creative endeavors. Explore below to discover a collection of David Hockney quotes that spark imagination, provoke contemplation, and celebrate the endless possibilities of artistic expression.
I’m a natural sceptic. David Hockney
I made a photograph of a garden in Kyoto, the Zen garden, which is a rectangle. But a photograph taken from any one point will not show, well it shows a rectangle, but not with ninety degree angles. David Hockney
I mean if you draw you like drawing, it’s er, an activity you do all the time actually. David Hockney
What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing. You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought. David Hockney
Always live in the ugliest house on the street – then you don’t have to look at it. David Hockney
Photographs aren’t accounts of scrutiny. The shutter is open for a fraction of a second. David Hockney
I avoid the public because the English public is too aggressive these days for me. David Hockney
You can’t name the inventor of the camera. The 19th-century invention was chemical: the fixative. David Hockney
But, I would always be thinking of how pictures are constructed and colour, how to use it, I mean you’re using it for constructing, makes you think about it, the place did as well. David Hockney
I’m very attracted to the great open spaces of the West. David Hockney
I was 18 when I first visited London, I’m very provincial like that, but I must confess the moment I got to America I thought: This is the place. It was more open, with 24-hour cities and pubs and restaurants that didn’t close. David Hockney
Britain is a very small country with a very large press. David Hockney
I draw flowers every day and send them to my friends so they get fresh blooms every morning. David Hockney
I’m a very early riser, and I don’t like to miss that beautiful early morning light. David Hockney
I actually think the deafness makes you see clearer. If you can’t hear, you somehow see. David Hockney
I stay up nights and fiddle with my opera designs. It’s a bit obsessive. That’s why I can’t do it all the time. David Hockney
The moment rules over everything. David Hockney
As for the world of fashion and celebrity, I have the usual interest in the human comedy, but the problems of depiction absorb me more. David Hockney
I’m a bit claustrophobic, I don’t like crowds, I live by the sea – that’s what I see when I come out of my house in Bridlington. David Hockney
I’m not really looking for theater work. But if somebody approaches me with enthusiasm, I might respond. David Hockney
Drawing makes you see things clearer, and clearer and clearer still, until your eyes ache. David Hockney
My only worry is the painting I’m doing. Nothing else. David Hockney
All film directors, even the ones using 3-D today, want you to look at what they chose. David Hockney
Enjoyment of the landscape is a thrill. David Hockney
I haven’t stopped painting or drawing – I’ve just added another medium. David Hockney
Ultimately, I’m about liberty and I think you have to defend it. David Hockney
I was always struck by how Picasso had no interest in music. David Hockney
I’ve realized that I can do performances. David Hockney
A belief is like a guillotine, just as heavy, just as light. David Hockney
Like people, trees are all individuals. David Hockney
To me, the world’s rather beautiful if you look at it. Especially nature. David Hockney
We live in an age where the artist is forgotten. He is a researcher. I see myself that way. David Hockney
I was aware that the teaching of drawing was being stopped almost 30 years ago. And I always said, ‘The teaching of drawing is the teaching of looking.’ A lot of people don’t look very hard. David Hockney
Being able to draw means being able to put things in believable space. People who don’t draw very well can’t do that. David Hockney
I can often tell when drawings are done from photographs, because you can tell what they miss out, what the camera misses out: usually weight and volume – there’s a flatness to them. David Hockney
As you get older, it gets a bit harder to keep the spontaneity in you, but I work at it. David Hockney
The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent. David Hockney
The photograph isn’t good enough. It’s not real enough. David Hockney
I live wherever I happen to be. David Hockney
I worked in the NHS as a hospital orderly during my national service, and people thought it was a noble service. But over the years it’s lost its humanity. David Hockney
I did come from a pretty independent-minded family. David Hockney
In fact, most artists want to make things a bit more difficult for themselves as they go along, to challenge themselves. David Hockney
California is always in my mind. David Hockney
Anything simple always interests me. David Hockney
Easel painting means small painting. David Hockney
Shadows sometimes people don’t see shadows. The Chinese of course never paint them in pictures, oriental art never deals with shadow. But I noticed these shadows and I knew it meant it was sunny. David Hockney
All painters are interested in photography to a certain extent. David Hockney
Of course you can still paint landscape – it’s not been worn out. David Hockney
Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make. David Hockney
And then I went round the corner and there’s a Van Gogh portrait, and you just think, well, this is another level. A higher level, actually. I love the Sargent, but it’s not the level of Van Gogh. David Hockney
In my old age, I’ll be in L.A. David Hockney
Laugh a lot. It clears the lungs. David Hockney
Well you can’t teach the poetry, but you can teach the craft. David Hockney
I’m interested in all kinds of pictures, however they are made, with cameras, with paint brushes, with computers, with anything. David Hockney
I went to art school actually when I was sixteen years old. David Hockney
You must plan to be spontaneous. David Hockney
I grew up in austerity in the 1940s and 1950s. David Hockney
People criticized me for my photography. They said it’s not art. David Hockney
The moment I got a very big studio, everything took off. David Hockney
People tell me they open my e-mails first, because they aren’t demands and you don’t need to reply. They’re simply for pleasure. David Hockney
I think Picasso was, without doubt, the greatest portraitist of the 20th century, if not any other century. David Hockney
Cubism was an attack on the perspective that had been known and used for 500 years. It was the first big, big change. It confused people: they said, ‘Things don’t look like that!’ David Hockney
I see the iPad as a wonderful new drawing medium, but I am at a loss as to how to make it pay. David Hockney
I’m not going to stop painting just to take orders. David Hockney
I go and see anything that’s visually new, any technology that’s about picture-making. The technology won’t make the pictures different, but someone using it will. David Hockney
Picasso is still influencing me. Of course, I haven’t got that kind of energy, or skill. David Hockney
I generally only paint people I know, I’m not a flatterer really. David Hockney
Most artists work all the time, they do actually, especially good artists, they work all the time, what else is there to do? I mean you do. David Hockney
I’m a bit claustrophobic, I know that now. David Hockney
Listening is a positive act: you have to put yourself out to do it. David Hockney
What I didn’t know was I was deeply attracted to the big space. David Hockney
I’ve always wanted to be able to paint the dawn. David Hockney
I think I am seeing more clearly now than ever. David Hockney
I’m a bit of a propagandist. David Hockney
Who would have thought that the telephone would bring back drawing? David Hockney
I prefer living in color. David Hockney
Television is becoming a collage – there are so many channels that you move through them making a collage yourself. In that sense, everyone sees something a bit different. David Hockney
I’m always excited by the unlikely, never by ordinary things. David Hockney
Yes, I did, I mean I painted er, in a kind of abstract expressionist way, because of course that was exciting. David Hockney
I think cubism has not fully been developed. It is treated like a style, pigeonholed and that’s it. David Hockney
I paint what I like, when I like and where I like. David Hockney
The moment you cheat for the sake of beauty, you know you’re an artist. David Hockney
I think my father would have liked to have been an artist, actually. But I think he didn’t quite have perhaps the drive or, I don’t know, I mean he had a family to bring up I suppose. David Hockney
I think the Enlightenment is leading us into a dark hole, really. David Hockney
Smoking calms me down. It’s enjoyable. I don’t want politicians deciding what is exciting in my life. David Hockney
But the moment you use an ordinary camera, you are not seeing the picture, remember, meaning, you had to remember what you’ve taken. Now you could see it of course, with a digital thing, but remember in 1982 you couldn’t. David Hockney
Who’s going to ask a painter to see a diploma? They’d say, ‘Can I see your paintings?’, wouldn’t they? David Hockney
I’ve always felt very English. David Hockney
Art has to move you and design does not, unless it’s a good design for a bus. David Hockney
Spring is very energising to me. David Hockney
Tobacco is America’s greatest gift to the world! David Hockney
It’s time to debate images, especially when someone’s going to prison for downloading them. David Hockney
When you stop doing something, it doesn’t mean you are rejecting the previous work. That’s the mistake; it’s not rejecting it, it’s saying, ‘I have exploited it enough now and I wish to take a look at another corner.’ David Hockney
Anyway I feel myself a bit on the edge on the art world, but I don’t mind, I’m just pursuing my work in a very excited way. And there isn’t really a mainstream anymore, is there? David Hockney
But slowly I began to use cameras and then think about what it was that was going on. It took me a long time, I mean I actually played with cameras and photography for about 20 years. David Hockney
It’s very British to go about to see something unusual and paint it. David Hockney
There are enough no smoking places now. David Hockney
East Yorkshire, to the uninitiated, just looks like a lot of little hills. But it does have these marvelous valleys that were caused by glaciers, not rivers. So it is unusual. David Hockney
Well, in Bradford I could say I was brought up in Bradford and Hollywood. David Hockney
Tragedy is a literary concept. David Hockney
