--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being bad. Discomfort with your body. Bad…" description: "\"Being bad. Discomfort with your body. Bad self image. All those things turn you into an artist. The same things that keep you from being in a proper ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21b/amy-sillman-31202_art_being-bad-discomfort-with-your-body-bad_2487557.jpg" --- # Being bad. Discomfort with your body. Bad self image. All… ![“Being bad. Discomfort with your body. Bad self image. All those things turn you into an artist. The same things that keep you from being in a proper marriage.” quote by Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21b/amy-sillman-31202_art_being-bad-discomfort-with-your-body-bad_2487557.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21b/amy-sillman-31202_art_being-bad-discomfort-with-your-body-bad_2487557.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21b/amy-sillman-31202_art_being-bad-discomfort-with-your-body-bad_2487557.jpg) > “Being bad. Discomfort with your body. Bad self image. All those things turn you into an artist. The same things that keep you from being in a proper marriage.” [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal discomfort and negative self‑image can fuel artistic creation, yet also hinder conventional relationships. **In simple terms:** Pain can inspire art but hurt love. Key Takeaway Channel inner turmoil into creative work. Themes art self‑image relationships Mood introspective melancholic Type artistic psychological When to use this quote - therapy - artistic practice - marriage counseling Key Concepts psychology creativity Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform discomfort without self‑destruction? - Can you separate artistic drive from relational health? A Different Perspective Relying on pain may be unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Self image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-image/) ## Related quotes > [... the things that happened in your body were never as bad as the things that happened in your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-wentworth/the-things-that-happened-in-your-body-were-never-as-bad-as-the-things/) [Patricia Wentworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-wentworth/) > [I'm insecure about my body. I'm a typical girl. I often hate my body and have bad hair days. I could show you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayden-panettiere/i-m-insecure-about-my-body-i-m-a-typical-girl-i-often-hate-my-body/) [Hayden Panettiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayden-panettiere/) > [“We are wrong to despise the body: it's so much less bad than the soul. Your soul claims to want things that your body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelie-nothomb/we-are-wrong-to-despise-the-body-it-s-so-much-less-bad-than-the-soul/) [Amélie Nothomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelie-nothomb/) > [“Drug yourself out and paint flowers on your body. Not such a bad life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/drug-yourself-out-and-paint-flowers-on-your-body-not-such-a-bad-life/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [My body's in such bad shape I wear prescription underwear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/my-body-s-in-such-bad-shape-i-wear-prescription-underwear/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [“If someone does not consider those around them to be valuable and hold only themselves in high regard, they too have a very bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/if-someone-does-not-consider-those-around-them-to-be-valuable-and/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [I think I always had joie de vivre. But I had pretty bad self-esteem growing up and much of my adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/i-think-i-always-had-joie-de-vivre-but-i-had-pretty-bad-self-esteem/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [I do entertain a lot of negative thoughts and I haven't got any self-belief. But I haven't done bad for someone without any self-belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-o-sullivan/i-do-entertain-a-lot-of-negative-thoughts-and-i-haven-t-got-any-self/) [Ronnie O'Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-o-sullivan/) > [I mean, I've been kind of bad at self-care. I struggle with tying my self-care to being more effective and more productive. Especially as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/i-mean-i-ve-been-kind-of-bad-at-self-care-i-struggle-with-tying-my/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [“Confidence. I'm bad at it. I get too self-conscious. Especially about things that mean a lot to me. I feel like if I hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasie-west/confidence-i-m-bad-at-it-i-get-too-self-conscious-especially-about/) [Kasie West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasie-west/) > [“Selfishness at the expense of others is bad. Self-care for the betterment of others is good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/selfishness-at-the-expense-of-others-is-bad-self-care-for-the/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [I'm really bad at self-promotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnamdi-asomugha/i-m-really-bad-at-self-promotion/) [Nnamdi Asomugha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nnamdi-asomugha/) > [“Look at you and your big, bad self. Rawr.” “You haven’t see anything yet,” I growled. “I’m giving you five seconds to back the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/look-at-you-and-your-big-bad-self-rawr-you-haven-t-see-anything-yet-i/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [I had very, very bad self-esteem - that I was a fake, everybody was going to find out, that I didn't deserve to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/i-had-very-very-bad-self-esteem-that-i-was-a-fake-everybody-was-going/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [Really, if you killed someone because you had a bad life,dosent mean you can put us down.and putting someone else down beacuse you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-todd/really-if-you-killed-someone-because-you-had-a-bad-life-dosent-mean/) Solomon Todd ## More by Amy Sillman > [In my work, we're not looking at an icon, we're not looking at a sign, we're not looking at a representation. We're looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/in-my-work-we-re-not-looking-at-an-icon-we-re-not-looking-at-a-sign/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [The works have to look like they're confident. But they also have to look sort of troubled. It's this weird thing: "Does that look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/the-works-have-to-look-like-they-re-confident-but-they-also-have-to/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [I'm in this process of trying to create a free space. Like an open field, where figure and ground are in very ambivalent, complex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/i-m-in-this-process-of-trying-to-create-a-free-space-like-an-open/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [That’s the huge problem with an abstract painting. When are you done? You’re done when you don’t want to do it anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/that-s-the-huge-problem-with-an-abstract-painting-when-are-you-done/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [I made silk screens of my drawings. I could add a drawing that was made with a machine or digitally to a drawing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/i-made-silk-screens-of-my-drawings-i-could-add-a-drawing-that-was/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [I want to expand the question of when something is done. I want to vex the ending. I want to mess around with that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/i-want-to-expand-the-question-of-when-something-is-done-i-want-to-vex/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [I've never read a book on shape. I've read books on gesture; I've read tons of books on color, surface, field, ground, representation, abstraction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/i-ve-never-read-a-book-on-shape-i-ve-read-books-on-gesture-i-ve-read/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [At some point, I get a weird feeling, and that's when I know it's done. I probably ruin a lot of really perfectly fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/at-some-point-i-get-a-weird-feeling-and-that-s-when-i-know-it-s-done/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [All accidents and experiments, and discoveries, are what my work is about. The problem that I have as an artist is being way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/all-accidents-and-experiments-and-discoveries-are-what-my-work-is/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [Who would be an artist that was perfectly happy? Maybe nowadays, but when I grew up in the '60s, you had nobody in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/who-would-be-an-artist-that-was-perfectly-happy-maybe-nowadays-but/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [A lot of what I do in my work is taking a thing and either washing it off, scraping it, covering it, scraping it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/a-lot-of-what-i-do-in-my-work-is-taking-a-thing-and-either-washing-it/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [You can make a beautiful thing, but there's no problem in it. I like the idea of doing a thing, wrecking a thing, questioning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/you-can-make-a-beautiful-thing-but-there-s-no-problem-in-it-i-like/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [Every painting I've ever done has like 100 paintings under it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/every-painting-i-ve-ever-done-has-like-100-paintings-under-it/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [I make paintings really slowly because I change them and change them and change them and change them and change them. I don't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/i-make-paintings-really-slowly-because-i-change-them-and-change-them/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [It's more this instinct to get in trouble, and then get myself out of trouble. That's what painting is for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/it-s-more-this-instinct-to-get-in-trouble-and-then-get-myself-out-of/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) [Explore all 16 Amy Sillman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) ## 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 > [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": "Being bad. 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