Lydia Davis Quotes

I come from an art-school background, and I still feel that in my music, it's about exploration and challenging myself, about putting myself in a place that's frightening because I haven't been there before.

I want to challenge myself, challenge my styles.

Well, every movie is an experiment. And the only way you can grow at what you're doing is to take chances. You can't try to stick with what worked last time.

Whenever I write a novel, I have a strong sense that I am doing something I was unable to do before. With each new work, I move up a step and discover something new inside me.

People sometimes get a little extra criticism when they try something that they don't normally do, but I think that's just a natural thing for artists. It's like, 'Okay, I did that, and now I want to try this.'

I am in a space now where I can try anything; and with Pink Floyd we've always been in a space where we were able to try out anything. I think we were very young then and we were very keen to experiment and try things out. It seems to me that this sort of experimenting is like working yourself towards something and trying to find what you like and what you want.

Artistically, you want to be able to do a lot of things that can challenge you to not just stay in the same thing.

As a creative person, you need to sort of spread your wings and try different things out because each one really does inform the other.

What all my years in improvisation taught is that - if you're going to grow as a performer - you have to try some new things. You've got to be willing to take a few risks.

No matter how brilliant an actor is, there's always a point where they let you down, but that's all part of their journey. They might be trying something they need to explore.

The more you create, the more ambitious you become with your projects. Short films were a direct result of over 200 web series sketches and vlogs. After you create enough 2-minute videos, you start to wonder what else there is. Deadlines and discipline and quantity with a focus on quality have always been what keeps me going.

I think that as an artist, the more that you can do to diversify, and kind of challenge yourself, the more you grow.

It's very important that young artists push boundaries, because sometimes you have this urge to do something - like the impulsive and dangerous urges I had as a child - and if you don't follow through with it you might miss out on a developmental experience.

My whole career is based on taking a left turn after each film and doing the opposite of what I've just done.

What an artist learns matters little. What he himself discovers has a real worth for him, and gives him the necessary incitement to work.

I want to try it to see what it's like and see what my stuff looks like when I take it from inception to completion.

I love to get to that place where I don't know what kind of music I'm doing; I don't know if it's any good. I don't know if it's anything. It's a big question mark. The idea is to have interesting results. That's my bottom line.

People criticize you for trying new things. I think, 'I'm new! I'm 22!' I don't know exactly what my sound is or what I want my album to sound like, so I'm not releasing it yet. While I'm experimenting, I'll let you in on the journey, and you can hear it for free.

I've never really had the opportunity to play something that's a complete departure from me yet.

Any characters that make me think, 'I don't know if I can do this,' are the ones I most want to do. I don't want to do the same thing over and over.

Sometimes you write songs that don't all fit together. What do you, just throw them away? This might be a chance for growth and learning. It could be a horrible fall-on-your-face kind of experiment.

I try new techniques and styles almost every day, so I'm always challenging myself.

I try every day to do something that I've never done before or make some sound that I've never made before.

The only way I'm comfortable with a new album is if I'm taking a new risk.

As an artist, I want to explore as much as I can.