Quotes by Artists

[Carl Dobsky]

I thought that a thread of quotes might be nice,especially with the barrage of pity parties going on around here........ Let's hear some things that give us insight into what we do and inspire us to do more. Quotes by artists on how they felt and thought about creating, working, living, loving, touching each other.--Damn I can't get that song out of my head.

Post 'em up if you got 'em.



" It is necessary to work, if not from inclination, at least from despair. Everything considered, work is less boring than amusing oneself."-Baudelaire

"An artist is not paid for his labour but for his vision.” - James MacNeill Whistler.

"Do not worry about your originality. You could not get rid of it even if you wanted to." - Robert Henri.

"In spite of myself, I go on hoping. I hope with all my heart that there will be painting in heaven. " Corot [Supposedly his last words]

"Art is vice. You don't marry it legitimately. You rape it." -Edgar Degas

[B u r l]

Hundreds of quotes can be found here: http://quote.robertgenn.com/

[Call0ps]

my contribution to an threat that teach is life time lessons in one sentence (quotes)

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." - Michelangelo

"A man paints with his brains and not with his hands" -Michelangelo

"Color is an inborn gift, but appreciation of value is merely training of the eye, which everyone ought to be able to acquire" - John Singer Sargent

"Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels" - Goya

"Action is the foundational key to all success" - Pablo Picasso

"Bad artists copy. Good artists steal" - Pablo Picasso

"To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic" - Pablo Picasso

[Elwell]

I haven't been able to find the origin of this one, but it's always been one of my favorites:
"It takes two people to make a picture; one to paint it, and the other to stand behind them with a big stick and hit them over the head when it's done."

[Elwell]

"Inspiration is for amateurs."
-Chuck Close

[dose]

"From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy-five I have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At ninety I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred I shall be a marvelous artist. At a hundred and ten everything I create, a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokosai, but today I sign my self `The Old Man Mad About Drawing.'"

-Hokusai

[Elwell]

Dose beat me to it. Best art quote ever.

[AsaB]

Great idea, this is sure to put some good inspiration into many! I love that last one by Degas.

My favourite quote that pushes me further is the one in my sig. It's by Cicero and even though he was not a visual artist, he sure was one with words. I find that this speaks to all kind of artists, so here it is in English:

"Constant practice devoted to one subject often outdoes both intelligence and skill".

This roughly means = draw moar!

[B u r l]

"Constant practice devoted to one subject often outdoes both intelligence and skill".

Funny, that was always my belief with painting and drawing, and I got labeled a 1 trick pony by one of my teachers because of it.

[AsaB]

"Constant practice devoted to one subject often outdoes both intelligence and skill".

Funny, that was always my belief with painting and drawing, and I got labeled a 1 trick pony by one of my teachers because of it.

I doubt many people are born with enough talent (used loosely here) to become fully-blown artists, without any practice. I think your teacher should reconsider her position before she's labelling students 1 trick ponies! That's both discouraging and simple-minded.

'Often' is also the key word there. A small percentage of people don't need as much practice as the regular artist-in-making, sure, but no practice at all is unheard of, I'm believe!

It's almost back to the talent vs no-talent discussion, so I doubt we should take this further At least we're in agreement!

[kev ferrara]

"Today I wrapped a Rolls Royce in cellophane. I hope somebody finds meaning in this" ~ Andy Warhol

[tensai]

"What I expect from any work of art is that it surprises me, that it violates my customary valuations of things and offers me other, unexpected ones."- Jean Dubuffet

"The harder you practice, the luckier you get" - Gary Player

And for the pitypartypooperpeople
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." (Goethe)

[Carl Dobsky]

That Hokusai quote is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[arttorney]

"And my aim in my life is to make pictures and drawings, as many and as well as I can; then, at the end of my life, I hope to pass away, looking back with love and tender regret, and thinking, “Oh, the pictures I might have made!” But this does not exclude making what is possible, mind you. Do you object to this, either for me or for yourself?" Vincent van Gogh

[cmalidore]

Of more current day artists, this one has always been a favorite.

"In a sense each painting becomes somewhat of an experiment, which of course means there is always a risk of screwing up. But that all adds to the excitement and sometimes my biggest gains as an artist come from being forced to deal with a painting that is not working: through this discipline comes growth. On the other side of this coin are the little miracles that sometimes occur quite by accident; when paint seems to swirl magically into paint, forming textures and nuances my conscious mind would never have come up with."

-Brom

[Craig D]

John Marin in answer to a "how do I get good" type of Q.:

"You are to heed what I say and go on a — watercolor — debauch — it's quantity — not quality — you are after — not to take this too literally — but what I mean is to get in front of any old landscape and spend reams of paper and paint on it — painting 3 or 4 a day — and then at the end of the season — you'll — if you are naturally gifted — have learned something about watercolor — then naturally you'll come to quality."

[chriskot]

"An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he, for some reason, thinks it would be a good idea to give them."
"Art is what you can get away with."
"The idea is not to live forever, it is to create something that will."

All quotes by Warhol.

[Samurai_em]

I think this quote has helped me get through a lot of rough times:

"When there's something weird and it don' look good, Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! I ain' 'fraid uh no ghost!" -Ray Parker Jr.

[Carl Dobsky]

Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good!!!!!!!!!!

[tmbritton]

Here's a couple by Truman Capote:

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.

When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended for self-flagellation solely.

[Ilaekae]

"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."--Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993)

"I believe that if it were left to artists to choose their own labels, most would choose none."--Ben Shahn (1898 - 1969)

"Painting: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic."--Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil's Dictionary

"Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere."--Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) British journalist, novelist and poet.

"Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse."--Winston Churchill (1874-1965).

"I choose a block of marble and chop off whatever I don't need."--Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) French sculptor

"An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have."--Andy Warhol (1930-1987).

"Art is either plagiarism or revolution."--Paul Gauguin (1848-1903).



ADD: Sorry, I had to do this...it's been picked up at least 10 times as a quote in publications and blogs...which really cracks me up

"Sometimes you just have to piss off everybody to get anything constructive done."--Alj Mary (1946- ) Artist and professional idiot sometimes known as Ilaekae

[Musselfarmstudios]

"Does anybody got an asprin?" Jim Henson

[sfa]

Great idea.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." - Pablo Picasso

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." - Pablo Picasso

"If they took away my paints I'd use pastels. If they took away my pastels I'd use crayons. If they took away my crayons I'd use pencils. If they stripped me naked and threw me in prison I'd spit on my finger and paint on the walls." - Pablo Picasso

"To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities." - Bruce Lee

"Art is, after all, only a trace – like a footprint which shows that one has walked bravely and in great happiness." - Robert Henri

“Come to the edge, he said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them and they flew.” - Guillaume Apollinaire

[Taj]

"Inspiration is for amateurs."
-Chuck Close

“Inspiration is for amateurs. I just get to work.” — Chuck Close

full quote from his appearance on Charlie Rose

[ccsears]

Ars longa, vita brevis
art is long life is short.

the hokusai original...badass.
this is some archaic f'ing japanese!

己六才より物の形状を写の癖ありて半百の此より数々画図を顕すといえども七十年前画く所は実に取るに足もの なし
七十三才にして稍　禽獣虫魚の骨格草木の出生を悟し得たり
故に八十六才にしては益々進み九十才にして猶其　奥意を極め一百歳にして正に神妙ならん与欠　百有十歳にし ては一点一格にして生るがごとくならん
願くば長寿の君子予言の妄ならざるを見たまふべし

hokusai was also pretty kinky...
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/画像:Drea...fe_hokusai.jpg

[HunterKiller_]

"Fuck yeah!" - kool-ka-lang

EDIT: I was on a non-art forum and came across this comment, "If I were to start my life again, id definitely become an artist".
I found it a rather touching comment. Sometimes we take art for granted, this makes me realize how fortunate we are.

[Andrew Weaver]

Bouguereau's discipline has always inspired me.

"Each day I go to my studio full of joy; in the evening when obliged to stop because of darkness I can scarcely wait for the morning to come...My work is not only a pleasure, it has become a necessity. No matter how many other things I have in my life, if I cannot give myself to my dear painting I am miserable." --William Bouguereau

"One has to seek Beauty and Truth, Sir! As I always say to my pupils, you have to work to the finish. There's only one kind of painting. It is the painting that presents the eye with perfection, the kind of beautiful and impeccable enamel you find in Veronese and Titian." --William Bouguereau, 1895

[Hyskoa]

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, 1905

Thought it would fit this thread.

[briggsy@ashtons]

"Severely self-critical, [Degas] would take a certain pleasure in repeating what a critic had said about him in a review of an exhibition: 'Continually uncertain about proportions'. Nothing, he claimed could better describe his state of mind while he was toiling and struggling over a work". - Paul Valery

[CCThrom]

One I've been thinking about lately...

"Art is not a mirror held up to reality, it is a hammer with which to shape it."
- Berthold Brecht