Creativity: Wise Words

Below are wise words from artists on creativity and making art.

“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work.” – Chuck Close

“Show up, show up, show up.”  –Isabelle Allende

“A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood.”  – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity.  It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” – Ray Bradbury

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, the just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” – Steve Jobs

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” – Albert Einstein