artist in the art

"Fiction is the art form of human yearning."

— Robert Olen Butler

for Creatives  |  reading, art, Robert Olen Butler, artist in the art, literary fiction, writing

"We write from our obsessions, and often they involve memories of incidents and people that we've never quite been able to resolve in any sort of satisfactory way.  These moments linger like the pea under the mattress that disturbed the princess's sleep, or the splinter under the skin that's sore when we touch it."

— Lee Martin

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, ideas, Lee Martin

"The artist touched the canvas and spent time to create that, and I can feel it.  Their passion is imprisoned in their work, or maybe it's time that's embedded there, not the passion." (artist)

— Kinukoy Yamabe Craft (artwork by Ann M. Riggott)

for Creatives  |  art, artists, artist in the art, value the art, painting, Kinukoy Yamabe Craft, Ann M. Riggott

"My views are a natural part of my writing.  I am who I am.  That shapes how I see the world and how I narrate it.  I don't know that there's any separating one's views from one's writing.  Journalists often talk about impartiality and treat it as a holy grail—but I don't know that anyone is impartial."

— Roxane Gay

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, artist in the art, writing, artist's voice, artist's message, Roxane Gay

"I see major thematic and even dramatic similarities between all my books.  In novels, there's no masking one's interests and obsessions."

— Stewart O'Nan

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, artist in the art, novel writing, writing, artist's voice, Stewart O'Nan

"It's like the Japanese with the garden.  Nature is doing all this stuff, and all they do is maybe take a branch and trim it, impose their will on it, and make it grow a certain way.  And they prune, and they keep certain things out.  But the plants are doing most of the work.  It's a two-way street–nature and man working together.  And in painting, the paint has got a texture and it sort of wants to be a certain way.  And a brush is so artificial, and it makes tiny little lines.  After you make a whole bunch of brush strokes, it's something else.  It's not the paint talking, it's too much of the person.  So you've gotta let accidents and strange things happen—let it work, so it's got an organic sort of quality."

— David Lynch

for Creatives  |  intuitive writing & pantsing, creative process, nature, Japanese, artist in the art, creating in the moment, painting, David Lynch

"Much like the mind of its maker or of any human being, the essay is mutable and free flowing, wandering and multifaceted, and surprising in the connections it makes.  These surprises cause the reader to feel as if she is inside the mind of the writer, following his thoughts as they spin and swivel, pivot and progress.  Its nature is personal, born of individual emotions, reasoning, and affectations that give it heart and humanity.  Essays, whether we oblige or not, welcome us into their arms."

— Liz Blood

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, essay, writer-reader relationship, Liz Blood

"I don't think one has to have a 'dysfunctional childhood' in order to write a fascinating memoir, but there definitely needs to be something.  And that 'something' could even be a gift for the observation of tiny, daily life."

— Augusten Burroughs

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, artists must EXPERIENCE, memoir, Augusten Burroughs

"As you create your story, it takes on a reality of its own—and as you explore its workings, you metamorphose.  Your thinking changes, your perceptions shift, you become a different person: You become the kind of person who can tell this story from the inside.  If you succeed, then the way you describe events and places and characters will be as a resident would describe it, and it will feel to the reader as if you've been there yourself."

— David Gerrold

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, writer-reader relationship, storytelling, David Gerrold

"Francis Bacon is, to me, the main guy, the number one kinda hero painter.  There's a lot of painters that I like.  But for just the thrill of standing in front of a painting… I saw Bacon's show in the sixties at the Marlborough Gallery and it was really one of the most powerful things I ever saw in my life." (artist)

— David Lynch (artwork by Francis Bacon)

for Creatives  |  artists, artist in the art, reaching your audience, value the art, painting, David Lynch, Francis Bacon

"[He] was not just a storyteller, he was a story. And story is resilient, protean, eternal."

— Doug Dorst

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, storytelling, Doug Dorst

"When an audience is so massive, do people even know why I write or what it means?'

— Sharon Van Etten

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, music, writing, reaching your audience, artist's message, Sharon Van Etten

"It makes me uncomfortable to talk about meanings and things. It's better not to know so much about what things mean. Because the meaning, it's a very personal thing, and the meaning for me is different than the meaning for somebody else."

— David Lynch

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, reaching your audience, filmmaking, artist's message, David Lynch, art interpretation

"One of my favorite things about illustration is getting to delve into a writer's 'world.'"

— Rovina Cai

for Creatives  |  art, artist in the art, writing, writer-reader relationship, artist's voice, Rovina Cai, drawing/illustration

"I used to think that some stories could only be written once by one person after they had lived many years thinking about that story.  I still believe that."

— Terry McDonell

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, artist's voice, Terry McDonell

"Of all the things I've learned about writing, this is the most important: There's a domain of excitement and eagerness and delight that can be astonishing.  It is a place of commitment and discovery and wonderment.  It is the far side of passion.  It is totality of purpose, an inspired obsession.  I like to call it stardrive.  It's the engine at the center of your personal starship.  It's your heart of brightness.  It is who you really are.  It is simply you—you are the source."

— David Gerrold

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, magic/mystery of creating/art, artist integrity, artist in the art, writing, inspiration/the muse, David Gerrold

"I remember feeling a sense of comfort, joy, and pride when working with my hands: I was in my element.  I was pretty imaginative, but I never considered myself an artist—somehow, I still don't."

— Dana Tanamachi

for Creatives  |  create for YOURSELF, artists, artist in the art, design, Dana Tanamachi, lettering

"Read the books: sometimes you can catch sight of [the authors] in there. We look like gods and fools and bards and queens, singing worlds into existence, conjuring something from nothing, juggling words into all the patterns of night. Read the books. That's when you see us properly: naked priestesses and priests of forgotten religions, our skins glistening with scented oils, scarlet blood dripping down from our hands, bright birds flying out from our open mouths. Perfect, we are, and beautiful in the fire's golden light."

— Neil Gaiman

for Creatives  |  reading, books, Neil Gaiman, artist in the art, writing

"I tend to write about things from wherever I am standing, and that means I include possibly too much me in the things I write."

— Neil Gaiman

for Creatives  |  Neil Gaiman, artist in the art, writing, artist's voice

"You are what you write and how you write it."

— Don Fry

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, Don Fry

"Deconstruct out-of-category novels and certain common factors emerge: characters we immediately care about, unique worlds, universal human experiences, high tension, plot layers, parallels, reversals, symbols, strong themes. But there's also an X factor: such fiction is personal, meaning that it directly reflects the author's own experience."

— Donald Maass

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, novel writing, the successful artist, writing, Donald Maass

"When you follow Must every day, you impact not only what you create for your work, but also who you become in your life. This is how your work and your life become one and the same. When you choose Must, what you create is yourself. It is a body of work. As you change, so too does the work. As you grow, so too does the creation."

— Elle Luna

for Creatives  |  creative process, artist integrity, artists, artist in the art, the creative life, Elle Luna, never stop LEARNING

Saving Mr. Banks

(written by Kelly Marcel & Sue Smith, starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson & Paul Giamatti)

for Creatives  |  creative process, artist integrity, art, artists, drama, film, artist in the art, comedy, biography, writing, Tom Hanks, filmmaking, storytelling, Ruth Wilson, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti

Follow Your Curiosity

"What if who we are and what we do become one and the same? What if our work is so thoroughly autobiographical that we can't parse the product from the person? In this place, job descriptions and titles no longer make sense; we no longer go to work, we are the work."

— Elle Luna

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, the creative life, Elle Luna

"It's not what an artist does that counts, but what he is."

— Pablo Picasso (art by same)

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, art, artists, artist in the art, the creative life, painting, Pablo Picasso

"An ending says something about the story and the characters. It also says something about you the author."

— Chuck Wendig

for Creatives  |  characters, artist in the art, writing, Chuck Wendig, story endings

"[Different creative mediums] are just both part of me and so they can't help but feed each other.  Anything that you work on, if you're being honest, shows your personality in it."

— Brad Meltzer

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, artists, artist in the art, creativity, writing, the creative life, creative freedom

"A work of art is a confession."

— Albert Camus

for Creatives  |  art, artist in the art, artist's message, Albert Camus

"Your fingerprints are all over your writing.  You can write about characters and situations and settings that are entirely divorced from your own experience, but you will still write yourself into your fiction.  The author is visible in the essential nature of a novel.  This is something very simple and obvious, but it was difficult for me to accept.  In fiction, you escape only to run into yourself, again and again."

— Katie Kitamura

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, novel writing, writing, Katie Kitamura

"All art is a kind of confession, more or less oblique.  All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story; to vomit the anguish up." (artist)

— James Baldwin (photo by Scott Fillmer)

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, creative fear, art, artists, artist in the art, the successful artist, Scott Fillmer, James Baldwin

"Reading and writing isn't about recognizing yourself.  It isn't about creating something you see yourself in.  It has to change you from the inside."

— Josefine Klougart

for Creatives  |  reading, artist in the art, writing, Josefine Klougart

"I should like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart."

— Vincent van Gogh

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, art, artists, artist in the art, reaching your audience, reviews, artist's message, painting, Vincent van Gogh

"In the end, though, every line is autobiographical simply because it has come from me.  There is no other explanation.  I'm not conducting a literary seance: I am putting the words on the page, and I must take full responsibility for what are, in essence, my words."

— Colum McCann

for Creatives  |  Colum McCann, artist integrity, artist in the art, writing

"In every character I write, there's a little piece of me.  And they're all interesting to me, enough that I would write a book about them ... It's exciting to imagine being different people."

— Heidi Pitlor

for Creatives  |  characters, artist in the art, writing, creating in the moment, Heidi Pitlor

"As if we go to the page as lobotomized creatures who abandon all other issues in their lives to be writers.  No, I think all writing has some advocacy in it.  All the time."

— Reginald Dwayne Betts

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, artist's message, Reginald Dwayne Betts

"A writer is a world trapped in a person." (artist)

— Victor Hugo (body painting & photo by John Poppleton)

for Creatives  |  photography, art, artists, artist in the art, writing, John Poppleton, Victor Hugo, painting, body painting

"If elements of my own life sift themselves into the plot, it's because they feel organic to the story I am telling—a story that distinctly belongs to the characters and not to me.  I try to listen to the demands of the story and stay true to them."

— Marisa de los Santos

for Creatives  |  characters, artist in the art, writing, storytelling, Marisa de los Santos

We Are Made of Words

artwork by "sunfairyx"

Wonders  |  art, artists, artist in the art, language, artist's message, sunfairyx, Canadian

Follow Your Curiosity

"All good novelists have bad memories."

— Graham Greene

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, novel writing, write what you know, writing, Graham Greene

"You'd have to be a literary critic or a psychiatrist to pick the writer out of his work.  Every fictional story goes through this sort of blender process where you take some real experience... you know what's real or true when you put it into the blender with fiction, and then it gets all mixed up with something that didn't really happen, but there's still a little of you in there.  I think the writer is in there no matter what you do. You can't really remove yourself from it."

— Ransom Riggs

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, artist's voice, Ransom Riggs

"Cast off the fear.  I was terrified about writing stories about where I came from because I was embarrassed.  Truly great writers are not afraid to bare their souls.  Sometimes you may feel like: 'I shouldn't have put that in there, I don't want people to think it's about me or look at me differently.'  Toss those thoughts aside.  That's a mental block.  Don't think about it.  Just do it.  As long as you write from a place of purity, and it comes from your heart, you can't go wrong."

— K'Wan Foye

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, creative fear, artist in the art, writing, writer's block, creative block, K'Wan Foye

"Messages are for Western Union." (on social commentary in films)

— Alfred Hitchcock

for Creatives  |  artist integrity, artist in the art, filmmaking, Alfred Hitchcock, artist's message

"I ended up answering [my readers], and with pleasure.  But it was a mistake.  Because really it's nobody's business what you believe.  The book stands on its own."

— Anne Rice

for Creatives  |  artist in the art, writing, Anne Rice

"I just held up the book and I said, 'This is my point.  The book is my point.'  It's my artistic expression I'm trying to communicate to you.  I don't know what I'm communicating, I'm making art.  I want to turn you on somehow and I hope you communicate back with me.  That's it.  That's my point.  I'm not trying to push an agenda on anybody.  That's for politics.  That's for essays.  That's for standing on a soap box."

— T.C. Boyle

for Creatives  |  art, artist in the art, writing, T.C. Boyle, writer-reader relationship

"Every book is in some way about the author even if it's not about the author."

— Bill Cheng

for Creatives  |  Bill Cheng, artist in the art, writing

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