At Sarah Lawrence, I realized that everybody was already what they were going to be. The painters were painting, the writers writing, the dancers dancing. And nobody wore any makeup. The art was uppermost.

It seemed like a very small possibility for me to become an artist. I didn’t have the need to be on the stage; I didn’t feel the need to be heard. I just needed to write.

Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong.

I’m not in control of my muse. My muse does all the work.

Art is going to make a bigger comeback than ever. That’s the upside to things getting challenging.

Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.

I can’t see myself singing the same song twice in a row. That’s terrible.

I have the ’77 Million Paintings‘ running in my studio a lot of the time. Occasionally I’ll look up from what I’m doing and I think, ‚God, I’ve never seen anything like that before!‘ And that’s a real thrill.

Objects in pictures should so be arranged as by their very position to tell their own story.

It is not your paintings I like, it is your painting.

I do believe in God. But you won’t find me visiting temples every now and then. I believe in self-realization. Peace of mind matters a lot to me. What’s the point in doing something just for the sake of it? I’d rather do something I like doing as long as I’m being true to myself.

I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

Be content to seem what you really are.

What inspires me about rap is that it’s written in an almost poetic way. I just think it’s so cool.

Everything in the world exists to end up in a book.

All art is but imitation of nature.

If you’re always under the pressure of real identity, I think that is somewhat of a burden.

People always say when they meet me that I’m not what they expect. I assume they think I’m this super dark and depressing guy, but I like to channel all of those emotions into my work.

Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter’s soul.

If I had a stock of fabulous sounds I would just always use them. I wouldn’t bother to find new ones.

You can write a song about being in love with someone, but you don’t have to be in love with anyone.

An author writes a book, and that’s the book at that point. And if the author writes the book again, then somehow something has gone wrong, if you see what I mean.

The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most.

It’s hard to practice compassion when we’re struggling with our authenticity or when our own worthiness is off-balance.

I really, truly believe that writing comes out of the body; of course, the mind is working as well, but it’s a double thing and that doubleness is united. I mean, you can’t separate persona from psyche; you just can’t do it.

To the audience, it’s like I’m changing the subject every five seconds, but to me, my show’s almost like a 90-minute song that I know exactly. I wrote every note, and I know exactly where everything is.

One great use of words is to hide our thoughts.

I’ve never lived my life in the opinion of others. I believe I’m a good person. I believe I’m a good mom. But that’s for my kids to decide, not for the world.

The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.

This above all; to thine own self be true.

Mere humans who root through their refrigerators at three o’clock in the morning can only produce writing that matches what they do. And that includes me.

What constitutes a real, live human being is more of a mystery than ever these days, and men each one of whom is a valuable, unique experiment on the part of nature are shot down wholesale.

Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed it?

In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing.

I’ve been trying to… Having been an English literary graduate, I’ve been trying to avoid the idea of doing art ever since. I think the idea of art kills creativity.

Necessity… the mother of invention.

I am a dangerous man when turned loose with a typewriter.

As a musician and a songwriter, it is an act of the ego to believe that other people might be interested in your point of view. But it is usually an empathetic nature that gets you going in the first place.

I like the app where you can make your own memes. I make memes all the time and send them to my friends.

The essential lesson I’ve learned in life is to just be yourself. Treasure the magnificent being that you are and recognize first and foremost you’re not here as a human being only. You’re a spiritual being having a human experience.

Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?

Songwriting is my way of channeling my feelings and my thoughts. Not just mine, but the things I see, the people I care about. My head would explode if I didn’t get some of that stuff out.

There are many things I do where the centre of it is… It’s almost more my humanitarian work than art.

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.

I don’t invest in ideas because ideas are a dime a dozen. I could steal the idea pretty quickly.

You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.

I’m an inventor.

No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.

I’ve never been a very prolific person, so when creativity flows, it flows. I find myself scribbling on little notepads and pieces of loose paper, which results in a very small portion of my writings to ever show up in true form.

My goal is to entertain myself and others.

Vulnerability is about showing up and being seen. It’s tough to do that when we’re terrified about what people might see or think.

Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.

Every artist was first an amateur.

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

Helped are those who create anything at all, for they shall relive the thrill of their own conception and realize a partnership in the creation of the Universe that keeps them responsible and cheerful.

A lot of people don’t realise I came out of the Smoky Mountains with a load of songs.

I decided to sell my drawings. However, I didn’t want people to buy my drawings because the professor of physics isn’t supposed to be able to draw – isn’t that wonderful – so I made up a false name.

But I think talent as a writer is hard-wired in, it’s all there, at least the basic elements of it. You can’t change it any more than you can choose whether to be right handed or left handed.

I specifically did not read other First Ladies‘ books, because I didn’t want to be influenced by how they defined the role. I knew that I would have to find this role – very uniquely and specifically to me and who I was.

There is no blue without yellow and without orange.