Charles Kelley Quotes

With the music that I've put out, I realized that putting pressure on an album isn't always the right thing to do for yourself.

For the creative players, sometimes it is better that they are not under pressure.

Sometimes, musicians worry too much about how beautifully they are playing.

I have a hard time writing music when I'm on tour.

When I first started as an editorial cartoonist, I was terrified on a daily basis. Filling that hole the next day, knowing that tens of thousands of people were going to expect something funny. There is still that pressure, but you kind of learn how to cope with it a little better.

Sometimes on sets, I shut down, try to focus.

For hundreds of years people have talked about artists having inspiration, but often, some persons would say, write us a symphony or write us a song, on commission. The artists would come up with a masterpiece without waiting to have their muse inspire them.

Trying to force creativity is never good.

I think I'd have done better if I had been a little more relaxed-if I had not pressed quite so hard, if I'd not lost quite so much sleep.

I subscribe to the myth that an artist's creativity comes from torment. Once that's fixed, what do you draw on?

Weeks go by, and I don't paint until finally I can't stand it any longer. I get fed up. I almost don't want to talk about it, because I don't want to become self-conscious about it, but perhaps I create these little crises as a kind of a secret strategy to push myself.

Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing - then a work of art may happen.

Pressure has always been more of a friend than a foe for me with songwriting.

I think, as a composer, pressure should be something that makes you better.

I don't know how to produce work if it's not something that's deeply scaring me or troubling me.

I really personalized the pressure to make a good 'Toy Story' film. It made me physically sick at the beginning. Literally, I wanted to throw up in the morning because I was just so racked with stress.

Fighting to get up in the morning, fighting to get on stage, fighting to make music that makes people feel good when I don't - that's been a struggle.

Don't think about making art.

I think creativity becomes really beautiful and magical when you allow it to do what it's needing you to do.

Artists are all giving so much of ourselves to the work and the people and the press and the media and Twitter and all that now. For me, being able to create from a genuine place is really difficult lately because there's so much going on all the time, but when all that stuff gets quiet, you can explore your ideas without any ego or mental chatter.

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.

The only thing in life that really gives me any peace is just being lost in the process of creating something, whether it's the film or painting and drawing, which has been a big part of my life, for a long time.

Artwork is not like a commercial business; there is no such thing as a schedule for art. You can't hurry art.

When I paint, I definitely live in the present, like someone in a shower whistling or singing.

Usually, I create tunes that are fragmented. I think the biggest obstacle for people with their creativity is that they feel they have to sit down and create this finished, polished product.