"Art should be something like a good armchair in which to rest from physical fatigue." - Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

"Art is about paying attention." - Laurie Anderson

"Art is meant to disturb, science reassures." - Georges Braque (1882-1963)

"Art too is just a way of living." - Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)

"Art is not "about." Art is." - Darby Bannard

"You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my eyes, until it went through a period of sensitivity to a moment of clarity. Without that moment of clarity to contribute to the song, it's just complaining." - Joni Mitchell

"The function of art is to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The artist shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see it anew." - Anais Nin, US (French-born) author & diarist (1903-1977)


“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is; nor how valuable it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep directly open to and aware of the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” - Martha Graham (1894-1991)


"Stop sometimes and look into the stains of walls, or ashes of a fire, or clouds, or mud or like places--you may find marvelous ideas." - Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

"Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself." - Truman Capote (1924-1984)

"Dancing is silent poetry." - Simonides of Ceos (556-468 BCE)

"A work of art is good if it has grown out of necessity." - Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) , Letters to a Young Poet

"This thing that we call writer's block is when we're trying to keep what we have and add to it, when what we have is actually the problem."
- David Wilcox

From: takemetothebridge.net/listen/...His-Way/