The artist’s job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence. – Woody Allen

We work in the dark – we do what we can – we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art. – Henry James

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all. – Ray Bradbury

I make art for one person and one person only. And as soon as I find that one person, I sure hope he has a lot of wall space, because he’ll be getting a lot of art from me. – Jarod Kintz

Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth. – Khaled Hosseini

The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living… – Dione Lucas

Art is making something out of nothing, and selling it. – Frank Zappa

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable 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 yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever 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

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable 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 yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever 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

Comedy aims at representing men as worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life. – Aristotle

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. – Henry Ellis