--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can look at my early work and see what…" description: "\"I can look at my early work and see what a pained struggle it was to draw what I was drawing. I was trying so hard to get this specific look that was i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/daniel-clowes-3835_artist_i-can-look-at-my-early-work-and-see-what_1033592.png" --- # I can look at my early work and see what a pained struggle… ![“I can look at my early work and see what a pained struggle it was to draw what I was drawing. I was trying so hard to get this specific look that was in my head, and always falling short.” quote by Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/daniel-clowes-3835_artist_i-can-look-at-my-early-work-and-see-what_1033592.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/daniel-clowes-3835_artist_i-can-look-at-my-early-work-and-see-what_1033592.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/daniel-clowes-3835_artist_i-can-look-at-my-early-work-and-see-what_1033592.png) > “I can look at my early work and see what a pained struggle it was to draw what I was drawing. I was trying so hard to get this specific look that was in my head, and always falling short.” [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic perfectionism can cause frustration and hinder progress, leading to perpetual dissatisfaction. **In simple terms:** Perfectionism blocks progress. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and keep creating. Themes art creativity self‑criticism growth Mood thoughtful motivational Type psychological creative When to use this quote - drawing - writing - design - performance Key Concepts perfectionism creative process self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - What standards are realistic for you? - How can you balance quality and productivity? A Different Perspective Obsessing over ideal results can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Early work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-work/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [As long as I can remember, I was drawing or trying to create something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hurley/as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-drawing-or-trying-to-create-something/) [Chad Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hurley/) > [I tend to write first thing, and then do my drawing later. I like to draw at night. But often I go for long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/i-tend-to-write-first-thing-and-then-do-my-drawing-later-i-like-to/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [I've been fifty thousand times to the Louvre. I have copied everything in drawing, trying to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-giacometti/i-ve-been-fifty-thousand-times-to-the-louvre-i-have-copied-everything/) [Alberto Giacometti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-giacometti/) > [There are some very similar moments in the early work where the focus was on drawing, abstraction and fragmentation. Then it moved to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaha-hadid/there-are-some-very-similar-moments-in-the-early-work-where-the-focus/) [Zaha Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaha-hadid/) > [I think there was a point that I realized I could do what I wanted to do in terms of the drawing. I used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/i-think-there-was-a-point-that-i-realized-i-could-do-what-i-wanted-to/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [My first two books are out of print and, okay, they can sleep there comfortably. It's early work, derivative work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/my-first-two-books-are-out-of-print-and-okay-they-can-sleep-there/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [I like Cronenberg's early work; his '80s films had all these weird, amorphous flesh objects in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autre-ne-veut/i-like-cronenberg-s-early-work-his-80s-films-had-all-these-weird/) [Autre Ne Veut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autre-ne-veut/) > [Rockefeller once explained the secret of success. 'Get up early, work late - and strike oil.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-adams/rockefeller-once-explained-the-secret-of-success-get-up-early-work/) [Joey Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-adams/) > [Documentation is misleading, because the performance is dead. So the very early works were not documented at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/documentation-is-misleading-because-the-performance-is-dead-so-the/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [If you get up early, work late, and pay your taxes, you will get ahead -- if you strike oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/if-you-get-up-early-work-late-and-pay-your-taxes-you-will-get-ahead/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [My early work and publications centered around expanding on the analysis of life insurance in my dissertation and its relationship to investment banking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/my-early-work-and-publications-centered-around-expanding-on-the/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [There is in my work a very strong religious foreground and background. In the later work some of that tends to diminish, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/there-is-in-my-work-a-very-strong-religious-foreground-and-background/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [My work is still very much light-hearted, positive outlook, laugh at yourself. But it isn't going to be the laugh-a-minute kind of thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/my-work-is-still-very-much-light-hearted-positive-outlook-laugh-at/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [It will soon be 25 years from the date of publication of my first research work. That the scientific aspirations kindled by that early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-raman/it-will-soon-be-25-years-from-the-date-of-publication-of-my-first/) [C. V. Raman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-raman/) > [An artist's early work is inevitably made up of a mixture of tendencies and interests, some of which are compatible and some of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/an-artist-s-early-work-is-inevitably-made-up-of-a-mixture-of/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) ## More by Daniel Clowes > [“This is the Mona Lisa of bad diners.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/this-is-the-mona-lisa-of-bad-diners/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [I lose faith in everything else, but rarely in my work. If I start to get bored, I change it to make it more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/i-lose-faith-in-everything-else-but-rarely-in-my-work-if-i-start-to/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [Surely comics require more effort on the part of the reader than movies or television. I'm always learning new things you can do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/surely-comics-require-more-effort-on-the-part-of-the-reader-than/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [You need to be, like, turning down high-paying illustration work because you want to work on your comic. That's when you know you're doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/you-need-to-be-like-turning-down-high-paying-illustration-work/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [Though to the average person that you'll meet on an airplane, if you tell them you draw comics, they'll still have sort of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/though-to-the-average-person-that-you-ll-meet-on-an-airplane-if-you/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [That'll be my claim to fame: My grandmother-in-law is the oldest iPad user!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/that-ll-be-my-claim-to-fame-my-grandmother-in-law-is-the-oldest-ipad/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [Usually when I put together a book like this Death-Ray hardcover or that Ghost World special edition, then I have to reread it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/usually-when-i-put-together-a-book-like-this-death-ray-hardcover-or/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [I think that's what we're all most terrified about: that we'll just die and disappear and we'll leave no trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/i-think-that-s-what-we-re-all-most-terrified-about-that-we-ll-just/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [When I go back and reread the stuff, I'm always floored by how deeply personal and revealing it actually is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-go-back-and-reread-the-stuff-i-m-always-floored-by-how-deeply/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [I'd always wanted to do a weekly strip, or a strip that was in installments like that. It's been fun trying to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/i-d-always-wanted-to-do-a-weekly-strip-or-a-strip-that-was-in/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [You have to find the tone of the piece and modulate that. There are ways to indicate that - I try to incorporate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/you-have-to-find-the-tone-of-the-piece-and-modulate-that-there-are/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [Often I'll do research just to get a time period correct, but I didn't have to for the '70s... I feel like I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/often-i-ll-do-research-just-to-get-a-time-period-correct-but-i-didn-t/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [My feeling is that it's one of the very few things that comics can do that you really can't do in any other medium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/my-feeling-is-that-it-s-one-of-the-very-few-things-that-comics-can-do/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [All I can say on the Guilford story - and this comes more from my perspective as a father than an artist - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/all-i-can-say-on-the-guilford-story-and-this-comes-more-from-my/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [I think I've had the fantasy of a ray-gun that could erase the world from the time I was a very little kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/i-think-i-ve-had-the-fantasy-of-a-ray-gun-that-could-erase-the-world/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) [Explore all 121 Daniel Clowes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can look at my early work and see what a pained struggle it was to draw what I was drawing. 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