--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a bad artist thinks he has a good…" description: "\"Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.\" — Ad Reinhardt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/009/ad-reinhardt-22386_art_only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-i_65011.png" --- # Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist… ![“Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.” quote by Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/009/ad-reinhardt-22386_art_only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-i_65011.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/009/ad-reinhardt-22386_art_only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-i_65011.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/009/ad-reinhardt-22386_art_only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-i_65011.png) > “Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.” [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True creativity stems from humility; genuine artists trust their intuition without over‑valuing ideas. **In simple terms:** Humility fuels authentic art. Key Takeaway Good art needs no ego. Themes creativity humility self‑trust artist mindset Mood contemplative confident Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artist self‑critique - creative brainstorming - design critique - personal art practice Key Concepts ego idea valuation creative process Practical Applications - artistic self‑assessment - creative workshops Questions to Reflect On - How does ego affect artistic output? - When can an idea be a hindrance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-does-282627/) [Artist Thinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-thinks-844869/) [Bad Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-artist-273840/) [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Brilliant ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant-ideas/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) [Good artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-artist/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinks Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-good-817149/) ## Related quotes > [A good artist is a bad artist who never gave up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-artist-is-a-bad-artist-who-never-gave-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What an artist does, is fail. Any reading of the literature, (I mean the literature of artistic creation), however summary, will persuade you instantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/what-an-artist-does-is-fail-any-reading-of-the-literature-i-mean-the/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [I don't want to hear at all what the artist thinks about his art. And I'm not writing for the artist. I'm writing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-don-t-want-to-hear-at-all-what-the-artist-thinks-about-his-art-and/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [“A true artist feels it, a jobbing artist thinks it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-c-brennan/a-true-artist-feels-it-a-jobbing-artist-thinks-it/) [Russell C. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-c-brennan/) > [Every artist thinks his most recent work is his best. If you didn't feel like that, you wouldn't do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/every-artist-thinks-his-most-recent-work-is-his-best-if-you-didn-t/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [As an artist, you can work to make money, or you can be an artist who thinks about their legacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ramos/as-an-artist-you-can-work-to-make-money-or-you-can-be-an-artist-who/) [Anthony Ramos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ramos/) > [It would be mistaken to suppose that any of the best photography is come at by intellection; it is like all art, essentially the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-levitt/it-would-be-mistaken-to-suppose-that-any-of-the-best-photography-is/) [Helen Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-levitt/) > [The unusual thing about doing street poster art - or something with a conscious social critique in it - is that the artist thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-drooker/the-unusual-thing-about-doing-street-poster-art-or-something-with-a/) [Eric Drooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-drooker/) > [“An artist who maintains that he has been misunderstood is almost always a bad artist who, I’m afraid to say, has been understood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesb/an-artist-who-maintains-that-he-has-been-misunderstood-is-almost/) [Jo Nesbø](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesb/) > [It is very bad for (an artist) to talk about how he (creates). It is not the (artist's) province to explain or to run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-is-very-bad-for-an-artist-to-talk-about-how-he-creates-it-is-not/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [We all know that a good person can be a bad artist.But no one will ever be a genuine artist unless he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/we-all-know-that-a-good-person-can-be-a-bad-artist-but-no-one-will/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [You cannot explain me with "isms." They are very bad for an artist. What one must believe in is color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/you-cannot-explain-me-with-isms-they-are-very-bad-for-an-artist-what/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [If you don't think a film looks good then that is just a reflection of how bad the artist was that was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-stanton/if-you-don-t-think-a-film-looks-good-then-that-is-just-a-reflection/) [Andrew Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-stanton/) > [The difference between a bad artist and a good one is: the bad artist seems to copy a great deal; the good one really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-difference-between-a-bad-artist-and-a-good-one-is-the-bad-artist/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## More by Ad Reinhardt > [Art is not the spiritual side of business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/art-is-not-the-spiritual-side-of-business/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [There is a black which is old and a black which is fresh. Lustrous black and dull black, black in sunlight and black in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/there-is-a-black-which-is-old-and-a-black-which-is-fresh-lustrous/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [We all name ourselves. We call ourselves artists. Nobody asks us. Nobody says you are or you aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/we-all-name-ourselves-we-call-ourselves-artists-nobody-asks-us-nobody/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [My paintings are the last paintings one can make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/my-paintings-are-the-last-paintings-one-can-make/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [I tried to oppose the academic to the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-tried-to-oppose-the-academic-to-the-marketplace/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The only and one way to say what abstract art or art-as-art is, is to say what it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-only-and-one-way-to-say-what-abstract-art-or-art-as-art-is-is-to/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-thousand-words-the-hell-with-it/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of-a-mature-artist/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [If some student came up and wanted to know where to study painting, you'd want to suggest someplace, but there's no place. I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/if-some-student-came-up-and-wanted-to-know-where-to-study-painting/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [An artist who dedicates his life to art, burdens his art with his life, and his life with his art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/an-artist-who-dedicates-his-life-to-art-burdens-his-art-with-his-life/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [I want to emphasize the idea of black as intellectuality and conventionality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-want-to-emphasize-the-idea-of-black-as-intellectuality-and/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Art is too serious to be taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/art-is-too-serious-to-be-taken-seriously/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The artist should once and forever emancipate himself from the bondage of appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-artist-should-once-and-forever-emancipate-himself-from-the/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The job at Brooklyn is interesting because Brooklyn reflects what happened to university art departments everywhere. It might be the worst department now, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-job-at-brooklyn-is-interesting-because-brooklyn-reflects-what/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) [Explore all 27 Ad Reinhardt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. 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