I Paint What I Want to See

by Philip Guston

Illuminating reflections on painting and drawing from one of the most revered artists of the twentieth century

'Thank God for yellow ochre, cadmium red medium, and permanent green light'

How does a painter see the world? Philip Guston, one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, spoke about art with unparalleled candour and commitment. Touching on work from across his career as well as that of his fellow artists and Renaissance heroes, this selection of his writings, talks and interviews draws together some of his most incisive reflections on iconography and abstraction, metaphysics and mysticism, and, above all, the nature of painting and drawing.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Essays, Art History, Theory, Design, Art Design

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

"Philip Guston (June 27, 1913 – June 7, 1980) was a painter and printmaker in the New York School, which included many of the abstract expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. In the late 1960s Guston helped to lead a transition from abstract expressionism to neo-expressionism in painting, abandoning the so-called "pure abstraction" of abstract expressionism in favor of more cartoonish renderings of various personal symbols and objects." - wikipedia

Reviews

[Yves S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not crazy about Philip Guston's work (Philip Guston says that of Ronald Kitaj's work on page 211, Kitaj, whose work I am crazy about), I am not crazy about Guston's work, I mean, who am I to say this, but it is just that I find it crude (to use the words of Harold Rosenberg in this very book), and I generally struggle to connect with his paintings. I had to set the scene and clear this up before starting.

So here we are, I am not the biggest fan of his work but there is something about artists, people who produce art, breath art, live art, and of course always think about art, that makes their discussions, thoughts and writings about art, absolutely fascinating. Philip Guston is no exception. This book is rich. Abstract at times, there were moments when I had no idea what he was on about, but others where he was irresistibly captivating. In this book, by using simple words, most texts are transcripts of recorded interviews, Guston allows us to enter his creative process and the passion for his art is charismatically contagious and spreads out of every page.

If you love art, or if you are an artist, if you love Guston’s work or even if you don’t like it so much, you will enjoy this book.
If you are not really into art, perhaps you will enjoy it less, but I firmly believe that reading and, in this case, almost listening, to someone who discusses the subject he is the most passionate about can not fail to captivate the reader.
Guston is again someone you would like to invite for dinner and who would entertain and light up the evening with endless reflections and digressions about art. And maybe by the end of the evening I would be able to understand and appreciate his work better.
Here is an idea: invite David Hockney to the same dinner, I would do the cooking and ... the listening!!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ofcourse, with Guston you're better off getting the Collected Writings, but I love these little white penguin classics. I love the size. Do they fit in my pocket? Probably not, but it feels like a possibility.
And I suppose in the Collected Writings there's a lot of repetition and this smaller Penguin edition has the important stuff; the interview with Rosenberg, and the Studio Notes.
I've just finished reading the Gordon biography of Angela Carter and so I've been thinking how strange that there was a time (pre-internet or pre-post-modernism?) when culture was so homogeneous, small and militantly focused on one approach. In the Carter biography Gordon describes a literary world where middle-class realism is the order of the day. Fantasy existed only in the pulps or in outposts like Kafka and Borges. The legend of Guston is that he bravely stood up against the Stalinist dogma of abstract painting. But is that a true representation of the cultural scene? Is it a false 'culture war' way of seeing history? Or, was the whole world and everything in it set into an us-or-them binary arrangement because of the Cold War? Whether in the literary world of Carter or the arty world of Guston.
Remember that when Guston had his first 'stumble-bum' exhibition there was lots of exciting figurative painting and image-making happening. And much of it was a clear influence on him. Would he have seemed like such an outsider if he was exhibiting in Chicago rather than New York?
Whether the Guston myth (that he was quite so singular and in opposition to the art of his times) is entirely true, he definitely seems super-relevant to today. And not just because of the fairly recent hoo-ha about his Klu Klux paintings. Olivia Laing says some interesting things about this in Everybody.
What I appreciate most, re-reading this stuff, is how he manages to hold that existential, post-war bleakness without becoming too heroic and romantic. He generally resists becoming grandiloquent. He says that he can imagine a time when painting will cease to exist. Surely we've arrived at that time.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When I complete a painting that feels real - I think afterwards that I have found a way - a road (...)
And again you must learn that there is no road - no way - all you possess is the luck to learn to see each time - freshly. Newly.
No good to paint in the head (...) You can only hope that you are alert - ready - to see.
What joy it is for paint to become a thing - a being. Believe in this miracle - it is your only hope."

[Darby Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Reads like your favorite teacher who has a handful of personal anecdotes that you become familiar with over a year. Great book to read if you need to remember that painting is cool because it makes you feel good to do it. Highly recommend.

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Thank god for yellow ochre, cadmium red medium, and permanent green light.”

I have more pages tabbed in this book than anything else I’ve read this year. Philip Guston’s beautiful and stubborn words have changed my view of art.

[Bettemay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Redelijk wat herhaling in het boek. En het is zo gestructureerd dat er vaak context mist. Ben zelf echt te lui om op te gaan zoeken waar ze het over hebben. Naast dat zeggen ze wel een hoop mooie dingen. Voor echte kunst nerds wel leuk

[Pane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest clear accounts of one artist talking about his process. No criptic arty language but relatable and approachable writing about making a painting, this proves to me that's mostly art critics that makes art a difficult subject, for artist it all more simple.

[sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

arvestades milline raamat see oli meeldis see mulle yllatavalt palju. mu esimene non fiction raamat ja tundub et need pole ikka minu cup of tea. oli huvitav lugeda maalimisest kunstniku povist ja pani mind targana tundma!

[Aidan Woodworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muah I love this book

[Sinag · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is such a joy!!! to read a painter talk about painting!! What really stuck with me is that idea of the enigma and being ready to see when you paint. "No good to paint in the head — what happens is what happens when you put the paint down — you can only hope that you are alert — ready to see." "Ideas about art don't matter. They collapse anyway in front of the painting." And how true this is!! My terrible paintings are (mostly) the ones I've planned out and followed to death and overworked to the point of asphyxiation— on the other hand, the paintings I've plunged into armed only with traces of a form and an after(pre?)-image, ones that have transformed and breathed and billowed out as I work on it, oh they're the most wondrous ones.

Thank you Guston for fanning the fire of my love for painting.

"It's almost like open-eyed dreaming, you know? As if I were in front of the canvas, dreaming and almost knowing what I was going to paint."

"I wang to make something I never saw before and be changed by it."

[Milanimal · Rating 5 out of 5]

five stars although at the beginning it was tepid. A great conversation with Coolidge plus the notes at the end make this dear

[Donia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Ideas about art don’t matter. They collapse anyway in front of the painting.”

[Gurldoggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transcribed dialogues and scattered writings from this enduring but enigmatic artist. Fascinating to read about the ideas and practices that motivated his long unpredictable career. Much of it is repetitive, but then that's the nature of obsession. Considering the constant references to his and others' visual work, this book REALLY should've included more illustrations. Far more questions than answers.

[michal k-c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly a skeleton key to Guston’s work but there are several illuminating transcripts in here, love his dipshit grad student audience at Yale about midway through the book. Great anecdote re: Philip Roth towards the end

[Elli · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a dude

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, would be best to read other books (biography by his daughter) to get a more rounded view

[Dirk Van Eyck · Rating 5 out of 5]

banger absolu

[Isabel Bazett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to come back to this book again and again and learn it all off by heart <3 such an amazing perspective on art and painting

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When I complete a painting that feels real — I think afterwards that I have found a way — a road. And my mind races on — painting pictures in my head. Infinite possibilities. What a delusion this is. All the possibilities — oh, at last I know. These are mere notions — proven to be so when you start painting again. They all tumble down when paint is put on. An again you must learn that there is no road — no way — all you losses is the luck to learn to see each time — freshly. Newly.”

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts are super slow, but some parts are super interesting.

[Cole Blouin · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books about art. The final pages are among the best.

[Pri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Philip Guston’s I Paint What I See aims to provide insight into his artistic philosophy, but instead feels like a detached, meandering lecture. While his shift from Abstract Expressionism to figurative painting was significant, his writing struggles to convey the depth of that transition in an engaging way.

Rather than offering clarity or poetic introspection, Guston intellectualizes his artistic frustrations in a way that feels elitist and inaccessible. He assumes admiration rather than earning it, making the book tedious for those not already convinced of his genius. Unlike Rothko or Kandinsky, who infused their theories with passion, Guston’s words feel distant and performative.

For art historians, the book offers historical context, but for those seeking engaging artistic philosophy, it falls flat. The ideas are there, but the energy is not.

[Z❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful read about what it's like to be artist. you don't need to be familiar with gustons work to enjoy this book. he doesn't romanticize the process of being one and talks about doubt, frustration and the absurdity of chasing meaning in marks on a canvas. there's humor in it too, with a kind of wry self-awareness that makes you feel like he's side-eyeing every art critic alive. it's an invitation to create and guston gives you permission to make something ugly, something honest and something that's yours, which to me is also one of the biggest takeaways from this read. perfect for when you’re overthinking your work and need a little tough love from a guy who painted Klansmen and lightbulbs and didn’t care if people thought it was ugly.

[Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books. I learned about Guston in uni, but in reference to his abstract paintings, which he got some backlash for. It was nice to see a focus on his figurative work. Seeing artists break out of a box they've put themselves in is always nice; you don't have to do the same thing forever. I think what Guston had to say about his art and art in general was interesting. Sometimes it feels like his presentations are a little unorganized, and it is hard to fully understand withkut the slideshows, but I think it is worth the read.

[Cass · Rating 3 out of 5]

“In love, aesthetically, in friendship, it's all the same, it's all connected. They get so close that you have to say, 'Get off. You don't know me. There's parts you don't know.’”

tho he’s not one of my favorites, i do enjoy guston’s work. & now i know i enjoy the way his mind works when it comes to his art. this little book is filled with insights and quotes that are definitely worth your time. if you enjoy art in any capacity, this is a fun read.

[Emilio Bricio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encontré que muchos pensamientos hacia el dibujo y la pintura que tiene Philip Guston son situaciones que también he pensado o sentido. Espero que, como yo, si lees este libro puedas sentirte un poco más acompañado en tus procesos y conflictos creativos.

El último capítulo es el mejor.

“Pictures should tell stories. It is what makes me want to paint. To see, in a painting, what one has always wanted to see, but hasn't, until now. For the first time.”

[Jak Krumholtz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got about halfway before losing interest due to it feeling repetitive caused by it being a collection of his interviews and talks. People entering my house are greeted with a huge full-size Guston copy I did for a school project. It felt weird hearing him describe the speed he could churn them out although that’s also part of why I chose it for the project, lol.

[Andrew Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely some thought provoking bits, though i did find the seemingly unedited transcripts a bit confusing a lot of the time. I'm sure there are plenty of books that present what's discussed in these recorded conversations/talks in a more streamlined way - but even the sometimes meandering thread of the dialogue still provided lots of things to think about.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of talks and conversations from the abstract artist. Usually I don’t mind reading things like this even if I’m not familiar with the artist but I genuinely felt like I was retaining zero information from this.

[Rake · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We once talked about artists who settle somewhere. I once made an analogy that, in painting, creating, it’s a court. But unlike a court, you’re the plaintiff, the defendant, the lawyer, the judge, and the jury. And most artists want to settle outside the court. No trial."