Janis Joplin Quotes

I stick to what I do best, and I think what makes an artist an artist is when they know who they are.

Too many of the artists of Wales spend too much time talking about the position of theartists of Wales.There is only one position for an artist anywhere: and that is, upright.

I have only one loyalty - to my writing. I never wanted to be the head of a studio or a producer.

People have mentioned, 'Maybe you should try to be more sexy. Look at how this butt stuff propelled this person to the top of the chart; it's amazing!' And I'm like, 'What if I really want to sing something to people?' I speak my mind. I want to be that person people feel they can listen to.

A painter's tastes must grow out of what so obsesses him in life that he never has to ask himself what it is suitable for him to do in art.

A writer is not a confectioner, a cosmetic dealer, or an entertainer.

The most important thing for me as an artist is having an identity.

I work as an artist, and I think the audience of one, which is the self, and I have to satisfy myself as an artist. So I always say that I write for the same people that Picasso painted for. I think he painted for himself.

My goal has always been to just be a person who makes great art.

I don't look at myself as a designer; I'm focused on music.

In any piece of art, the artist pours themselves into it. It becomes a reflection of who they are and what they believe. That's what it has to be. Otherwise it's just a product.

I don't want people to love me. I want people to chill and just listen to my music.

I don't consider myself an entertainer. I consider myself an artist, and I think with that comes responsibility.

There's nothing wrong with writing for other artists, but that's just not what my purpose is.

My ambition was never to make a lot of money. It wasn't to travel around the world. I was really just struggling to make the best pictures I could make.

Most comics give you what you want. I give you what you need.

The rule I stand by as an artist is definitely be yourself, and don't make music just for other people: make it for you first.

My music comes before my stardom, so the pressure of handling fame does not matter.

I don't want to use my platform to speak out against anybody. I'm a rock and roller. I play music for a living.

Limitations force you to find the essence of what you want to say, which is one of the most important things to know for an artist.

I don't resent being a female painter. I don't exploit it. I paint.

When I was at art school, a lot of art education is about art being a means of self-expression, and as an 18-year-old I didn't know if I had a huge amount I wanted to express. It was a big moment when I decided I wanted to shift the emphasis or the intention of my art from something I disgorged myself upon and something that actually fed me or made me see the world or understand the world.

Art is its own excuse, and it's either Art or it's something else. It's either a poem or a piece of cheese.

I believe that the quintessential task of every painter in any time has been to concentrate on the essential.

No matter how far you go, if you can't go back to the essence, you're not sayin' nothin'. The essence for me is hip-hop. But the hip-hop community I came up in isn't a loyal community.