--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a good artist understands is that…" description: "\"“What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere.”\" — Austin Kleon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/austin-kleon-1835_art_what-a-good-artist-understands-is-that-n_971944.png" --- # What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from… ![“What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere.” quote by Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/austin-kleon-1835_art_what-a-good-artist-understands-is-that-n_971944.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/austin-kleon-1835_art_what-a-good-artist-understands-is-that-n_971944.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/austin-kleon-1835_art_what-a-good-artist-understands-is-that-n_971944.png) > ““What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere.”” [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists must understand that ideas come from existing sources; originality builds on prior work. **In simple terms:** Nothing comes from nowhere. Key Takeaway Study and remix existing ideas. Themes creativity inspiration artistic process Mood encouraging reflective Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - writing - design - music composition Key Concepts intertextuality cultural borrowing Questions to Reflect On - What sources inspire your work? - How do you add personal twist to borrowed ideas? A Different Perspective Blind copying can stifle authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Understands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-understands-1870926/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) [Good artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-artist/) [Understands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understands/) [Understands Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understands-comes-1870927/) ## Related quotes > [What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/what-a-good-artist-understands-is-that-nothing-comes-from-nowhere-all/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [A real good artist learns to be a better person through all the changes they've been through. They keep their loving and honesty growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradley/a-real-good-artist-learns-to-be-a-better-person-through-all-the/) [Charles Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradley/) > [I'm just a fan of all music. My family owned a record shop so I grew up taking it all in on a daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ab-soul/i-m-just-a-fan-of-all-music-my-family-owned-a-record-shop-so-i-grew/) [Ab-Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ab-soul/) > [Rozay is an artist himself so he understands the importance of being true to your work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarion/rozay-is-an-artist-himself-so-he-understands-the-importance-of-being/) [Omarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarion/) > [Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/let-the-writer-take-up-surgery-or-bricklaying-if-he-is-interested-in/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. 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A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/a-good-traveler-has-no-fixed-plans-and-is-not-intent-upon-arriving-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [A Good artist has less time than ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-kippenberger/a-good-artist-has-less-time-than-ideas/) [Martin Kippenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-kippenberger/) > [When I propose a candidate for a job I don't do it because the person in question is the best but because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesbo/when-i-propose-a-candidate-for-a-job-i-don-t-do-it-because-the-person/) [Jo Nesbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesbo/) > [Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-idea-a-good-artist-does-not/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [I just wanna be a good artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-graham/i-just-wanna-be-a-good-artist/) [Kat Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-graham/) > [A good artist's always got his hand in his zipper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-his-zipper/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Convincing myself I was a “good artist” while also knowing how pointless it was to be one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-morissette/convincing-myself-i-was-a-good-artist-while-also-knowing-how/) [Guillaume Morissette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-morissette/) ## More by Austin Kleon > [“The thing is, you can cut off a couple passions and only focus on one, but after a while, you’ll start to feel phantom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/the-thing-is-you-can-cut-off-a-couple-passions-and-only-focus-on-one/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Don't think of your website as a self-promotion machine, think of it as a self-invention machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/don-t-think-of-your-website-as-a-self-promotion-machine-think-of-it/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because you can’t steal. You will take what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/we-want-you-to-take-from-us-we-want-you-at-first-to-steal-from-us/) [austin kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Validation is for parking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/validation-is-for-parking/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“If you want fans, you have to be a fan first. If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/if-you-want-fans-you-have-to-be-a-fan-first-if-you-want-to-be/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Social media sites are the perfect place to share daily updates. 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(It’s the only way to get work done.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/be-boring-it-s-the-only-way-to-get-work-done/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [It sounds a little extreme, but in this day and age, if your work isn't online, it doesn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/it-sounds-a-little-extreme-but-in-this-day-and-age-if-your-work-isn-t/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Don't wait until you know who you are to get started. If I'd waited to know who I was or what I was about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/don-t-wait-until-you-know-who-you-are-to-get-started-if-i-d-waited-to/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/your-brain-gets-too-comfortable-in-your-everyday-surroundings-you/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/nothing-is-more-paralyzing-than-the-idea-of-limitless-possibilities/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Whenever Picasso learned how to do something, he abandoned it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/whenever-picasso-learned-how-to-do-something-he-abandoned-it/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“The writer Jonathan Lethem has said that when people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/the-writer-jonathan-lethem-has-said-that-when-people-call-something/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [“Stock and flow” is an economic concept that writer Robin Sloan has adapted into a metaphor for media: “Flow is the feed. It’s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/stock-and-flow-is-an-economic-concept-that-writer-robin-sloan-has/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) [Explore all 204 Austin Kleon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) ## 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. 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