30 Valentine’s Day Quotes for Painting & Drawing Inspiration (2024)

Photo caption: Milan Art Institute co-owner Dimitra Milan suggests using poetry and quotes as inspiration for your art. Photo courtesy of Milan Art Institute.

Creating Valentine’s Day art is one way to take advantage of holiday art buyers. In this case, the holiday in question is Valentine’s Day, which CNBCrates as the third-biggest gift-giving holiday of the year, after Thanksgiving and Christmas. This requires some planning, and many artists dedicate many weeks to the creation of holiday-themed art far in advance of the holidays.

However, such pre-planning can add to a professional artist’s bottom line, so it’s worth the resolve it takes to paint holiday paintings - Valentine’s Day, in this case - in say October or November. Starting this far ahead allows you to alert your collectors of the existence of these paintings in a timely fashion.

One of the big obstacles that you’ll have to overcome is that of inspiration. As students in the Mastery Programare taught, it’s best to always have something to paint. Having ideas for paintings or drawings created ahead of time allows you to pursue your art production plans with vigor and tenacity.

But if you find that you’re stuck for ideas for your Valentine’s Day paintings and drawings, we can offer help. Artistic inspiration is something that Dimitra Milan, co-founder of the Milan Art Institute, addresses in the Voice Section of the Mastery Program. Using poetry or quotes to inspire paintings is one of the ideas that Dimitra suggests.

These 30 quotes were assembled with this in mind and are intended to inspire you to create beautiful Valentine’s Day-themed artwork that would be suitable for husbands, wives, friends and family, as well as a girlfriend or boyfriend.

Some of these V-Day quotes provide you with vivid mental pictures, while others are more abstract. This should allow you to find a quote that best suits the painting you’re trying to make. Also, the first three quotes are some of Dimitra’s personal favorites.

Valentine’s Day Quotes to Inspire Beautiful Paintings and Drawings

“You are my love story, and I write you into everything I do, everything I touch and everything I dream. You are the words that fill my pages.” - A. R. Asher

“Like breathing love you is the most natural thing I’ve ever known.” - Alicia N. Green

“My favorite part is where you walked into my life. You didn’t know me, yet something told you to walk a little more.” - J. M. Storm

“Valentine’s Day is the poet’s holiday.” – Ted Koosner, Poet

"There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment." - Sarah Dessen, Author

"I have no notion of loving people by halves. It is not my nature." - Jane Austen, Author

“I don’t go by the rule book....I lead from the heart, not the head.” - Princess Diana

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." - William Shakespeare, Playwright and Poet

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller, Author

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because the reality is finally better than your dreams." - Dr. Seuss

"Love is like the wind; you can't see it, but you can feel it." - Nicholas Sparks, Author, From A Walk to Remember

"Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone. It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”- Ursula K. Le Guin, Author

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine, are the same." - Emily Bronte, Author From Wuthering Heights

“Loving is not just looking at each other. It’s looking in the same direction.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Poet

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu, Philosopher

“True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked.” – Erich Segal, Author

“Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence.” – Vincent van Gogh, Artist

“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.” – Max Muller, Philologist

"You are my heart, my life, my one and only thought." - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Author

“Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.” – Katharine Lee Bates, Songwriter

"Love is friendship that has caught on fire." - Ann Landers, Advice Columnist

"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other." - Audrey Hepburn, Actress

“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” – Linda Grayson, Author

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." - Aristotle, Philosopher and Polymath

"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk through my garden forever." - Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate

Life is the flower for which love is the honey. - Victor Hugo, Author

Love is the whole thing. We are only the pieces. - Rumi, Poet

“The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow, because it was important to them. There ought to be as many for love.” – Margaret Atwood, Author

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” – A.A. Milne, Author

“A life without love is like a year without summer.” – Anonymous

“Rare as is true love. True friendship is rarer.” – Jean de La Fontaine, Poet

“True friends are like diamonds — bright, beautiful, valuable and always in style.” – Nicole Richie, Actress

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope. - Maya Angelou, Author and Poet

Follow These Links for Other Ideas for Leveling Up Your Art Skills

Create Romantic Portraits for V-Day With Our Portrait Class

Inspiration for Artists: 5 Tips for Finding Your Creative Groove

Where to Find 100s of Free Imagesto Use in Your Paintings