--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is not a career - it's a life." description: "\"Art is not a career - it's a life.\" — Andy Goldsworthy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/andy-goldsworthy-4466_art_art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life-1895960_1895960.png" --- # Art is not a career - it's a life. ![“Art is not a career - it's a life.” quote by Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/andy-goldsworthy-4466_art_art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life-1895960_1895960.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/andy-goldsworthy-4466_art_art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life-1895960_1895960.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/andy-goldsworthy-4466_art_art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life-1895960_1895960.png) > “Art is not a career - it's a life.” [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art transcends a job; it is an integral part of life’s expression. **In simple terms:** Art is a way of living, not a job. Key Takeaway Live your art daily. Themes creativity life integration purpose Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily practice - community projects - environmental installations Key Concepts existential art philosophy of work Questions to Reflect On - How does art shape your daily routine? - Can work become art? A Different Perspective Balancing livelihood and passion is tough. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think it's about art being a career but it's about making sure that if art is something that you love, something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/i-don-t-think-it-s-about-art-being-a-career-but-it-s-about-making/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [I had someone very close to me say to me that hopefully I’ll have many more ups and downs, not in just my career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-kitsch/i-had-someone-very-close-to-me-say-to-me-that-hopefully-i-ll-have/) [Taylor Kitsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-kitsch/) > [Career is a part of my life... But my life is main for me, I want to die in peace... by making people laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-mishra/career-is-a-part-of-my-life-but-my-life-is-main-for-me-i-want-to-die/) [Sanjay Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-mishra/) > [My art career actually began under the kitchen table. My mother wanted to get me out of her hair while she cooked, so she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-tobey/my-art-career-actually-began-under-the-kitchen-table-my-mother-wanted/) [Alton Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-tobey/) > [I'm not sure that an art career would have any benefit for me; I'm not sure it's what I want. I don't think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-m-not-sure-that-an-art-career-would-have-any-benefit-for-me-i-m-not/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [The secret of a successful art career is to make more art that folks think they need than pieces they just want. When a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-white/the-secret-of-a-successful-art-career-is-to-make-more-art-that-folks/) [Jack White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-white/) > [I've been very fortunate in my art career. It's something I would never have expected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-dzama/i-ve-been-very-fortunate-in-my-art-career-it-s-something-i-would/) [Marcel Dzama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-dzama/) > [I certainly am one of those people who is incredibly privileged to have an art career, which happened out of luck. Then luck kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-certainly-am-one-of-those-people-who-is-incredibly-privileged-to/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/no-matter-what-your-age-or-your-life-path-whether-making-art-is-your/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [I'm an artist because that's what I was best at as a kid. It was fun... I continue to be an artist... for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kostabi/i-m-an-artist-because-that-s-what-i-was-best-at-as-a-kid-it-was-fun-i/) [Mark Kostabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kostabi/) > [I hate to sound like a romantic adolescent, but I believe artists don't generally see art as a career choice; they simply can't overcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-hate-to-sound-like-a-romantic-adolescent-but-i-believe-artists-don/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [If I want to do something in the TV industry, I should be allowed to explore that, but not in a way where it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalup-linzy/if-i-want-to-do-something-in-the-tv-industry-i-should-be-allowed-to/) [Kalup Linzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalup-linzy/) > [My art career often feels less like an art career and more like a career in educating, usually by using my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-shraya/my-art-career-often-feels-less-like-an-art-career-and-more-like-a/) [Vivek Shraya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-shraya/) > [After finishing art school I was applying to stores like Home Depot and Walmart. You know, places where you have to take a urine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-dzama/after-finishing-art-school-i-was-applying-to-stores-like-home-depot/) [Marcel Dzama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-dzama/) > [Film is an amazing art form, but so is life. When your career and your life can work together, and one can support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/film-is-an-amazing-art-form-but-so-is-life-when-your-career-and-your/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) ## More by Andy Goldsworthy > [Even in winter an isolated patch of snow has a special quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/even-in-winter-an-isolated-patch-of-snow-has-a-special-quality/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [If I had to describe my work in one word, that word would be time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/if-i-had-to-describe-my-work-in-one-word-that-word-would-be-time/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Winter makes a bridge between one year and another and, in this case, one century and the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/winter-makes-a-bridge-between-one-year-and-another-and-in-this-case/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Understanding the materials I work with... gives me a deeper understanding of my place. And it's helped me make sense of the changes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/understanding-the-materials-i-work-with-gives-me-a-deeper/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [I love the winter. Well, I love all the seasons, but the winter is possibly one of the most intense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/i-love-the-winter-well-i-love-all-the-seasons-but-the-winter-is/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Time gives growth, it gives continuity and it gives change. And in the case of some sculptures, time gives a patina to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/time-gives-growth-it-gives-continuity-and-it-gives-change-and-in-the/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Sometimes you need to stop doing something to really see it afresh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/sometimes-you-need-to-stop-doing-something-to-really-see-it-afresh/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [I've laid down in dried up streambeds, leaving a shadow. And then, five minutes later, it's flash flooded, and where I once laid is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/i-ve-laid-down-in-dried-up-streambeds-leaving-a-shadow-and-then-five/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [When I do the permanent projects or the big projects, when a work is finished, that's the beginning of its life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/when-i-do-the-permanent-projects-or-the-big-projects-when-a-work-is/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Nature, for me is raw and dangerous and difficult and beautiful and unnerving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/nature-for-me-is-raw-and-dangerous-and-difficult-and-beautiful-and/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Ephemeral work made outside, for and about a day, lies at the core of my art and its making must be kept private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/ephemeral-work-made-outside-for-and-about-a-day-lies-at-the-core-of/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [I have to understand the nature of change. And I cannot just work with stone or the more permanent materials. I need to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/i-have-to-understand-the-nature-of-change-and-i-cannot-just-work-with/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Design implies a sense of mapping something out and then you follow the plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/design-implies-a-sense-of-mapping-something-out-and-then-you-follow/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [The reason why the stone is red is its iron content, which is also why our blood is red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/the-reason-why-the-stone-is-red-is-its-iron-content-which-is-also-why/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [It's frightening and unnerving to watch a stone melt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/it-s-frightening-and-unnerving-to-watch-a-stone-melt/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) [Explore all 110 Andy Goldsworthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) ## 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": "Art is not a career - it's a life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Goldsworthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/andy-goldsworthy-4466_art_art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life-1895960_1895960.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/andy-goldsworthy-4466_art_art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life-1895960_1895960.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/andy-goldsworthy-4466_art_art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life-1895960_1895960.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is not a career - it's a life.” — Andy Goldsworthy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andy Goldsworthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is not a career -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/art-is-not-a-career-it-s-a-life/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```