--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Technically, I’m right up there, I think…" description: "\"“Technically, I’m right up there, I think. But the really great artists have something—I don’t think anyone can really quantify it—that I don’t. But th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c58/david-baldacci-1558_art_technically-i-m-right-up-there-i-think-b_882259.png" --- # Technically, I’m right up there, I think. But the really… ![“Technically, I’m right up there, I think. But the really great artists have something—I don’t think anyone can really quantify it—that I don’t. But that’s okay. I’m happy with” quote by David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c58/david-baldacci-1558_art_technically-i-m-right-up-there-i-think-b_882259.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c58/david-baldacci-1558_art_technically-i-m-right-up-there-i-think-b_882259.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c58/david-baldacci-1558_art_technically-i-m-right-up-there-i-think-b_882259.png) > ““Technically, I’m right up there, I think. But the really great artists have something—I don’t think anyone can really quantify it—that I don’t. But that’s okay. I’m happy with”” [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great artists possess an ineffable quality that cannot be measured, yet it defines their work. **In simple terms:** Art has an unquantifiable spark. Key Takeaway Pursue the intangible in your craft. Themes creativity talent intangible quality Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational advice When to use this quote - writing - music - visual arts Key Concepts artistic genius originality Questions to Reflect On - What intangible quality defines your work? - How do you nurture it? A Different Perspective Quantifying talent can diminish its mystery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Great Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artists/) [Okay Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/okay-happy-751394/) [Really Quantify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-quantify-1064534/) [Technically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technically/) [Technically Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technically-right-1064535/) ## Related quotes > [You really can't quantify what 'Dietland' is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marti-noxon/you-really-can-t-quantify-what-dietland-is/) [Marti Noxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marti-noxon/) > [I know you're okay without me & I'm happy for you talking to whoever it is you're talking to. Only because I won't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-you-re-okay-without-me-i-m-happy-for-you-talking-to-whoever-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It’s okay,” I tell her. “It is okay to be happy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/it-s-okay-i-tell-her-it-is-okay-to-be-happy/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [When everything is finally okay and I'm happy I can't help but expect everything to fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-is-finally-okay-and-i-m-happy-i-can-t-help-but-expect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's okay to be happy with a calm life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-okay-to-be-happy-with-a-calm-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would like to think you're okay without me. And your happy thoughts are rarely about me. You're so worth all of this torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-like-to-think-you-re-okay-without-me-and-your-happy-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'd like to think you're okay without me, and your happy thoughts are no longer about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-like-to-think-you-re-okay-without-me-and-your-happy-thoughts-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's okay to be happy, it's okay to live your life exactly the way you want it... It's okay to find what makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/it-s-okay-to-be-happy-it-s-okay-to-live-your-life-exactly-the-way-you/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [You always ask if I'm okay But it's not the same as being happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-turner/you-always-ask-if-i-m-okay-but-it-s-not-the-same-as-being-happy/) [Frank Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-turner/) > [I'm okay. I'm happy. I'm normal. I'm smiling. I'm laughing. I'm fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/i-m-okay-i-m-happy-i-m-normal-i-m-smiling-i-m-laughing-i-m-fine/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [I've done an awful lot of trying to make everybody else okay and happy. I have learned, now it would really be ok to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-ve-done-an-awful-lot-of-trying-to-make-everybody-else-okay-and/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [When I was a kid, my mother used to film all of our holidays and all of the good times, and I kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-kills/when-i-was-a-kid-my-mother-used-to-film-all-of-our-holidays-and-all/) [Natalia Kills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-kills/) > [“It's okay to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-duke/it-s-okay-to-be-happy/) [Megan Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-duke/) > [I smile but it doesn't mean that I'm okay and happy. Remember, looks can be deceiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-smile-but-it-doesn-t-mean-that-i-m-okay-and-happy-remember-looks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are so many great artists, I think, who kind of suffer from being icons, legends, acknowledged masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/there-are-so-many-great-artists-i-think-who-kind-of-suffer-from-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) ## More by David Baldacci > [Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/why-waste-time-trying-to-discover-the-truth-when-you-can-so-easily/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [It's the hardest thing in the world to put yourself in someone else's place, try to really feel what they feel, figure out why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/it-s-the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-to-put-yourself-in-someone-else-s/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“That’s what’s called a ‘valley fill.’ What they fill it with the coal companies call ‘overburden.’ That’s basically everything they tore off the land:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-what-s-called-a-valley-fill-what-they-fill-it-with-the-coal/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [But if I worried too much about publishers' expectations, I'd probably paralyze myself and not be able to write anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/but-if-i-worried-too-much-about-publishers-expectations-i-d-probably/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [That's what civilization sometimes did to threats, real or perceived. They walled them off. Us against them. Survival of the fittest. You die so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-what-civilization-sometimes-did-to-threats-real-or-perceived/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“You could have been a great scientist or something. Or a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/you-could-have-been-a-great-scientist-or-something-or-a-writer/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“That’s good to hear, Billy. Kids have enough shit to deal with without somebody who is supposed to love them beating the crap out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-good-to-hear-billy-kids-have-enough-shit-to-deal-with-without/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [Most people associate reading with laying on the beach. They don't see that it's crucial for a democracy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/most-people-associate-reading-with-laying-on-the-beach-they-don-t-see/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm ever curious about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-ever-curious-about-the-world/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“There was a time when Stone would have rated a platoon of crackerjack killers coming for him by land, sea and air. Those days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/there-was-a-time-when-stone-would-have-rated-a-platoon-of-crackerjack/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm driven to go out and find new things to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-driven-to-go-out-and-find-new-things-to-write-about/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [It's hard, Cotton. To let yourself love something you know you may never have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/it-s-hard-cotton-to-let-yourself-love-something-you-know-you-may/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm a wicked ping-pong player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-a-wicked-ping-pong-player/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“He could compartmentalize at an astonishing level. It came from not giving a shit. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/he-could-compartmentalize-at-an-astonishing-level-it-came-from-not/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“two unconscious, bleeding men and then over at the girl behind the bar. She was staring at him openmouthed, the glass-rag and beer mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/two-unconscious-bleeding-men-and-then-over-at-the-girl-behind-the-bar/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) [Explore all 214 David Baldacci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) ## 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. 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": "“Technically, I’m right up there, I think. 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