Creativity Quotes - 12 Inspiring Creativity Quotes to Spark Fresh Ideas About Art
Creativity is a force that exists within every one of us. Even if you think you can't draw, might be tone deaf and never have an original idea, you're still a unique, creative being. I love inspiring creativity quotes, because they remind me that I have something to say.
And if you don’t feel like a creative being, you can maybe blame modern life. Our always-on society is an enemy to creativity. Social media, TV and long work hours can leave us feeling drained.
You may struggle to find time to perfect a craft, learn an instrument or develop the skill it takes to paint. But if you've ever cooked a meal from scratch, grown a plant in your garden or walked in nature and felt curiosity about life, you have inside you a creative spark, waiting to shine.
What is creativity?
Wikipedia dryly defines creativity as,
“A phenomenon whereby something somehow new and somehow valuable is formed.”
To be creative we have to come up with ideas. But thousands of years into human civilisation, there is no such thing as an original idea. So how can we still be creative and produce creative work?
Creativity is a bit like knowledge. It has a cumulative effect…
“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.” - Mark Twain
But unlike knowledge, creativity has a personal authenticity that is separate and unique in every one of us.
Creativity is not just for artists…
We can all learn to live a creative life, to develop creative thinking and to stop believing we are lacking imagination. Remember daydreaming as a kid? Drawing pictures and making up stories? When your logical brain is taking a nap, creativity blossoms. Ironically, we’re most inspiring when we stop trying so hard to be clever.
If you're feeling stuck, creatively drained or like you're your own worst enemy, it's time to look at some inspiring creativity quotes.
12 (ish) inspiring creativity quotes that resonate with my creative process and inspire me to get my brushes out…
Some of these give me confidence in my own learning process. Others just make me feel happy.
"Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced."
The author, Leo Tolstoy, said this. It's certainly been true in my life.
And the American poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, said:
“You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
It's true. Creative activity is like a muscle. The more you work it, the more easily inspiration comes.
English author, Neil Gaiman said:
"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before."
Whether it's a cake, a garden or a painting, he’s right.
Sometimes it's easy to let your brain get in the way of creativity…
But we all need an outlet to be childlike, to explore and to play. In fact, playfulness and curiosity are the only sure ways to get better at anything.
"The chief enemy of creativity is good sense." - Pablo Picasso, artist
"Creativity is obscured by the conscious mind." - Naval Ravikant, entrepreneur
"Creativity: the art of not trying, the art of letting go." - Maxime Lagacé, ice hockey player
So how do artists create work?
Do they just let their imagination go free? Personally, I find expression is much more vivid when I also focus on technique, but allow myself to drop the constraints of perfectionism. My art is an expression of my soul, and to allow that, I have to set my ego aside.
"The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness.” - Joan Miró, Spanish artist
"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul." - Vincent van Gogh
It wouldn’t be a collection of inspiring creativity quotes without something by Rumi…
Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar and theologian. His work explores ideas of love, inspiration, awakening and humanness. He's one of my favourite sources of inspiring creativity quotes, because everything he wrote was amazing.
I think this is just beautiful:
“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth.”
Next, this paragraph from Marianne Williamson. It’s from her book, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles". This quote is often misattributed to Nelson Mandela.
I remember reading this years ago and it stopped me in my tracks. I recognised myself so strongly.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Interestingly, Rumi said the same thing:
“Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the worlds.”
Original commission in oils by Johanna McWeeney
Another line that stopped me dead where I was (heading out of the Victoria Line platform at London Kings Cross) is from Leonard Cohen's song, Anthem. This is one of my all-time favourite quotes.
"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."
Again, Rumi got there first (the sentiment, not the Victoria Line):
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
Magical.
I love Leonard Cohen's poetry as much as I love Rumi
I remember buying a copy of Cohen’s poetry book, The Book of Longing, and finding this page:
This speaks to every creative person who has ever felt doubt or imposter syndrome.
When you do creative work it's very easy to feel like you're faking it. The only real sign that you are getting somewhere is feedback that your work awakened some feeling in another person. In a sense, you have to give it away to keep it.
Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is another fascinating source of inspiring creativity quotes and philosophy. He said:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
And finally, one of my favourite living artists, David Hockney, who is frequently prosaic and poetic at the same time, describes creative inspiration saying:
"It's very British to go about to see something unusual and paint it."
Which just makes me chuckle.
What inspires you to be creative?
I believe we are all full of unstoppable creativity. Inspiring creativity quotes like these just help define the human experience — what it's like to create and what it's like to live.
What new habit will you build to include creativity in your day?
Why not grab some inspiration from the fabulous female artist, Jenni Watters, who wrote a guest blog for me recently…
Stock images thanks to Jr Korpa, The Creative Exchange, Mike Petrucci, Ricardo Viana and Peter F on Unsplash.