I never said the camera was truth. It is, however, a more accurate and more objective way of seeing.
Chuck CloseRead
The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creativity requires consistent effort rather than waiting for a moment of inspiration.
Chuck Close emphasizes the importance of diligence and hard work in the creative process, arguing that waiting for inspiration is a trap that can hinder artistic development. Instead of relying on fleeting moments of creativity, he advocates for a proactive approach where one simply shows up and engages in their work to cultivate their artistic skills.
Themes
InspirationArtCreativityHard WorkEffort
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop for aspiring artists, you might say this quote to encourage them to be proactive in their creative journeys.
More from Chuck Close
All quotes →A photograph doesn't gain weight or lose weight, or change from being happy to being sad. It's frozen. You can use it, then recycle it.
Chuck CloseRead
Neurologically, I'm a quadriplegic, so virtually everything about my work has been driven by my learning disabilities, which are quite severe, and my lack of facial recognition, which I'm sure is what drove me to paint portraits in the first place.
Chuck CloseRead
Part of the joy of looking at art is getting in sync in some ways with the decision-making process that the artist used and the record that's embedded in the work.
Chuck CloseRead
Losing my father at a tender age was extremely important in being able to accept what happened to me later when I became a quadriplegic.
Chuck CloseRead
All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.
Chuck CloseRead
Similar quotes
People say my films are dark. But like lightness, darkness stems from a reflection of the world. The thing is, I get these ideas that I truly fall in love with. And a good movie idea is often like a girl you're in love with, but you know she's not the kind of girl you bring home to your parents, because they sometimes hold some dark and troubling things.
David LynchRead
And the idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for awhile is just bliss.
J. K. RowlingRead
A lot of people insisted on a wall between modern dance and ballet. I'm beginning to think that walls are very unhealthy things.
Twyla TharpRead
I love having my hands in the dirt. It is never a science and always an art. There are no rules. And if it comes down to me versus that weed I'm trying to pull out of the ground that doesn't want to come out? I know I'll win.
Matthew McconaugheyRead
Tell me what you'd like to hear me sing. I'll sing whatever you like, after which I'll take up a collection, if you don't mind.
Edith PiafRead
I sense a Threshold: Light to Silence, Silence to Light - an ambiance of inspiration, in which the desire to be, to express, crosses with the possible Light to Silence, Silence to Light crosses in the sanctuary of art.
Louis KahnRead