Patti Smith Quotes

I don't like to say I have given my life to art. I prefer to say art has given me my life.

I know how difficult it is to make a career in the arts, but even if you don't make a career of it, don't lose it as a hobby. Artists often end up in jobs that have nothing to do with their art. But that side needs to be fulfilled - don't give it up.

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.

In a lot of the art world, you have to present yourself as you know what you're doing at a young age. Music gave me another outlet. The 'no wave' bands were such an inspiration; it felt so free - once you start doing it, it's hard to stop. But I can't get away from art. It comes back around. I wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't pursue it.

What part of people is resistant to an artist doing more than one thing? Is it somehow perceived as greedy? Anyone who has that weird volition to become an actor probably has a weird volition to do lots of other creative things - to write, to play music, to paint, to cook.

I came to New York to write and direct, and when I got here, a lot of my rage came out.

As I showed the world my art, my heart, I wasn't just an actress. I was actually an artist. And that was my transformation.

Songwriting is therapeutic for me.

An amateur may not be an artist, though an artist should be an amateur.

I'm writing for the sake of writing music. Whether it gets heard or not isn't an issue for me. It keeps my own juices going and my mind active.

Writing, like any art, is a continuing process of discovering the infinite possibilities of Life.

Art opens the closets, airs out the cellars and attics. It brings healing.

Writing is a subtle art that is reached mostly by self-discovery and experimentation.

I was always involved in art and when I went under contract at Warner Bros. at 18, it afforded me the possibility of never having to stop painting, never having to stop taking photographs and so on, and to actually live a cultural life.

I switched up so that I could work 12-hour shifts at the firm on the weekends so I could have days free to paint. But it was almost like I had a secret life, because I wasn't showing any of my work. It was just in my house. In '89, I got a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. That's when I started to get into group shows. Suddenly I sort of "came out" as an artist.

I've always written poetry but I didn't realise it was a therapy for me until I was maybe 15. That's when my singing started to come together as well because I was listening to so much jazz. What I love I will always embrace.

People should practice an art in order to make their souls grow and not to make money or become famous. Paint a picture. Write.

To be able to do art, it was a luxury to me.

I am here on Earth to express myself, and the many media of art are my magic carpets that allow me the freedom to do so.

Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible.

I'm doing things that are more artistic again, more close to the material that I love. I don't disparage those things that I did. They're just not as much reflective of who I am.

I am only limited by the amount of life I have left to capture the ideas I am already working on. Another problem is that I am not sure if I would rather create or collect art. Collecting art is another passion of mine.

My life is in the art that I make, and I'm very happy with it.

I've learned that I'm most powerful when I'm doing my art.

Making art has never been a mystery to me. It's never been something that's very difficult.