--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I close my eyes to draw I always…" description: "\"When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975.\" — Daniel Clowes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/daniel-clowes-3835_always_when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-th_1993597.png" --- # When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975. ![“When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975.” quote by Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/daniel-clowes-3835_always_when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-th_1993597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/daniel-clowes-3835_always_when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-th_1993597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/daniel-clowes-3835_always_when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-th_1993597.png) > “When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975.” [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. The artist visualizes a past cityscape while drawing, blending memory and imagination. **In simple terms:** He imagines Chicago 1975 while sketching. Key Takeaway Use personal memories to enrich creative work. Themes creativity memory place artistic process Mood reflective nostalgic Type inspirational artistic When to use this quote - illustration - personal reflection - urban nostalgia Key Concepts visual storytelling nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - How does recalling a specific time influence your art? - What other memories could you draw upon? A Different Perspective The imagined setting may limit present‑focused observation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago/) [Chicago 1975](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago-1975-3469119/) [Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close/) [Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw/) [Draw Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw-think-390686/) [Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) [Eyes Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-draw-2403035/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-chicago-1046511/) ## Related quotes > [One must always draw, draw with the eyes, when one cannot draw with a pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/one-must-always-draw-draw-with-the-eyes-when-one-cannot-draw-with-a/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [I just draw what I think is funny, and I hope other people think it is funny, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/i-just-draw-what-i-think-is-funny-and-i-hope-other-people-think-it-is/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [Working with the kind of talent that I've gotten to work with, like the cast of Sin City, it makes me think probably more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-miller/working-with-the-kind-of-talent-that-i-ve-gotten-to-work-with-like/) [Frank Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-miller/) > [I think Chicago has provided, for quite a long time, a very high level of stand-up comics that make their way out to New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-santino/i-think-chicago-has-provided-for-quite-a-long-time-a-very-high-level/) [Andrew Santino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-santino/) > [Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/eventually-i-think-chicago-will-be-the-most-beautiful-great-city-left/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Maybe we can show government how to operate better as a result of better architecture. 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Like the driver's ed kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is-that-i-m-not-thinking-about/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [It is the natural instinct of a child to work from within outwards; "First I think, and then I draw my think." What wasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/it-is-the-natural-instinct-of-a-child-to-work-from-within-outwards/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [I think Chicago's kind of a comedy hub, and I think it always has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-santino/i-think-chicago-s-kind-of-a-comedy-hub-and-i-think-it-always-has-been/) [Andrew Santino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-santino/) > [I consider myself a Chicagoan. I came here to study at the Art Institute in 1951 when I was 18 years old, and I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sedelmaier/i-consider-myself-a-chicagoan-i-came-here-to-study-at-the-art/) [Joe Sedelmaier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sedelmaier/) ## 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 Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Clowes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-think-chicago-in-1975/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-think-chicago-in-1975/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/daniel-clowes-3835_always_when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-th_1993597.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/daniel-clowes-3835_always_when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-th_1993597.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9b/daniel-clowes-3835_always_when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-th_1993597.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975.” — Daniel Clowes", "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": "Daniel Clowes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I close my eyes to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-think-chicago-in-1975/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-think-chicago-in-1975/#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 } } ] } ```