30 Quotes to Inspire Creativity from the Masters

No matter the type of creative work you do, you’ve likely found yourself in a creative rut or block from time to time.

Not only is it deeply frustrating—it can take away the excitement you had for your project—but it can also make you want to abandon the work altogether, which you shouldn’t do!

That’s why words of encouragement can be so helpful. Whether it be from a friend, coworker or someone else, the right words are often enough to make that idea click, or to at least give you the spirit needed to return to your work.

That’s why it can be especially helpful to hear from the greats themselves for inspiration.

With these 30 quotes to inspire creativity courtesy of Invaluable, take solace in the words of Da Vinci and Rembrandt whether you’re a painter, writer or looking for creative inspiration in other areas of your life. Hear their thoughts on striving for perfection and what they looked to for inspiration. You may find just find what you need to motivate you to return to your creative dreams!

• “What beauty is, I know not, thought it adheres to many things.”-Albrecht Dürer
• “A good painter needs only three colors: black, white and red.”-Titian
• “If it were as easy to do a thing as to judge it, my Christ would not look like a peasant; but take some wood yourself and make one.”-Donatello
• “Drawing is the necessary beginning of everything, and not having it, one has nothing.”-Giorgio Vasari
• “The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.”-Michelangelo

• “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”-Leonardo da Vinci
• “I paint because the spirits whisper madly inside my head.” -Doménikos Theotokópoulos, also known as El Greco
• “Oh, but a man’s reach must exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” -Andrea Del Sarto
• “All works of nature created by God in heaven and on earth are works of sculpture.” -Benvenuto Cellini
• “A painting is finished when the artist says it is finished.” -Rembrandt

• “My illustrations lordship, I’ll show you what a woman can do.” -Artemisia Gentileschi
• “White is poison to a picture, use it only in highlights.” -Peter Paul Rubens

“Poets paint with words, painters speak with works.” – Annibale Carracci Click to Tweet

• “A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.” -Joshua Reynolds
• “Drawing is the skeleton of what you do and color is its flesh.” -Nicolas Poussin

• “To give a body and a perfect form to one’s thought, this – and only this – is to be an artist.” -Jacques-Louis David
• “Draw lines – draw a lot of lines.” -Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
• “Remember, light and shadow never stand still.” -Benjamin West
• “A taste for simplicity cannot endure for long.” -Eugène Delacroix
• “The painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself.” -Caspar David Friedrich
• “The act of painting is about one heart telling another heart where he found salvation.” -Francisco Goya
• “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.” -William Blake
• “When I sit down to make a sketch from nature, the first thing I try to do is to forget that I have ever seen a picture.” -John Constable
• “Art, like love, excludes all competition and absorbs the man.” -Henry Fuseli
• “It is better to be nothing than a follower of other painters. The wise man has said when one follows another one is always behind. -Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot

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