Artist Quotes by William Faulkner

“In Europe, being an artist is a form of behavior; in America, it's an excuse for a form of behavior.”

— William Faulkner

“The work of the artist is to lift up people's hearts and help them endure.”

— William Faulkner

“In Europe, being an artist is a form of behavior; in America, being an artist is an excuse for a form of…

— William Faulkner

The only environment the artist needs is whatever peace, whatever solitude, and whatever pleasure he can get at not too high a…

— William Faulkner

The best job that was ever offered to me was to become a landlord in a brothel. In my opinion it's the…

— William Faulkner

“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life... and hold it fixed so that 100 years later, when…

— William Faulkner

The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means.

— William Faulkner

An artist is completely amoral in that he will rob, beg, borrow, or steal from anybody and everybody to get the work…

— William Faulkner

By artist I mean of course everyone who has tried to create something which was not here before him, with no other…

— William Faulkner

“An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn’t know why they choose him and he’s usually too busy to wonder…

— William Faulkner

The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he…

— William Faulkner

The artist is still a little like the old court jester. He's supposed to speak his vicious paradoxes with some sense in…

— William Faulkner

The artist is of no importance. Only what he creates is important, since there is nothing new to be said. Shakespeare, Balzac,…

— William Faulkner

People need trouble - a little frustration to sharpen the spirit on, toughen it. Artists do; I don't mean you need to…

— William Faulkner

The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a…

— William Faulkner

Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.…

— William Faulkner

The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a…

— William Faulkner

So the only environment the artist needs is whatever peace, whatever solitude, and whatever pleasure he can get at not too high…

— William Faulkner

“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a…

— William Faulkner

All of us have failed to match our dream of perfection. I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to…

— William Faulkner

“Ninety-nine percent talent…ninety-nine percent discipline…ninety-nine percent work. He must never be satisfied with what he does. It is never as good as…

— William Faulkner

Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the…

— William Faulkner

The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about…

— William Faulkner

The work never matches the dream of perfection the artist has to start with.

— William Faulkner

The artists who want to be writers, read the reviews; the artists who want to write, don't.

— William Faulkner

An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn't know why they choose him and he's usually too busy to wonder…

— William Faulkner