--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists are like cockroaches; everything…" description: "\"Artists are like cockroaches; everything is grist for the mill.\" — Elaine de Kooning" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/elaine-de-kooning-44764_art_artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything_1361374.png" --- # Artists are like cockroaches; everything is grist for the… ![“Artists are like cockroaches; everything is grist for the mill.” quote by Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/elaine-de-kooning-44764_art_artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything_1361374.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/elaine-de-kooning-44764_art_artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything_1361374.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/elaine-de-kooning-44764_art_artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything_1361374.png) > “Artists are like cockroaches; everything is grist for the mill.” [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists persist like resilient insects, turning any material into creative output. **In simple terms:** Artists turn all material into art. Key Takeaway Embrace all experiences. Themes creativity resilience art inspiration adaptability Mood playful determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - studio work - street art - improvisation - creative brainstorming Key Concepts resourcefulness transformative process survival instinct Questions to Reflect On - What mundane objects could inspire you? - How does resilience shape artistic practice? A Different Perspective Not all material is equally valuable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists/) ## Related quotes > [A good friend once told me that the problems are like cockroaches. If drawn to light, they'll get scared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/a-good-friend-once-told-me-that-the-problems-are-like-cockroaches-if/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [sexual predators were like cockroaches. For every one you saw, there were twenty more hiding behind the walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/sexual-predators-were-like-cockroaches-for-every-one-you-saw-there/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“We all live like cockroaches in the crevices of our imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-federman/we-all-live-like-cockroaches-in-the-crevices-of-our-imagination/) [Raymond Federman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-federman/) > [Adolescents are like cockroaches: They come out the minute you leave town, crawl the walls, feed indiscriminately, reproduce alarmingly unless drugged, and will certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/adolescents-are-like-cockroaches-they-come-out-the-minute-you-leave/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“People, she was discovering, were like cockroaches: If you allowed one in, more were sure to follow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacia-kane/people-she-was-discovering-were-like-cockroaches-if-you-allowed-one/) [Stacia Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacia-kane/) > [Violence is never the answer but sometimes, like with cockroaches, it is the only possible response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-huff/violence-is-never-the-answer-but-sometimes-like-with-cockroaches-it/) [Tanya Huff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-huff/) > [“Everyone scurrying around like cockroaches leading pointless, little lives, never taking the time to stop and consider why we’re here or what it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-cross/everyone-scurrying-around-like-cockroaches-leading-pointless-little/) [Ethan Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-cross/) > [Problems in a company are like cockroaches in the kitchen. You will never find just one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/problems-in-a-company-are-like-cockroaches-in-the-kitchen-you-will/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Palms are like cockroaches. They were here long before us, and they'll be here long after us. They're the only things standing after a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-irwin/palms-are-like-cockroaches-they-were-here-long-before-us-and-they-ll/) [Robert Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-irwin/) > [Art has been hijacked by nonartists. It's been taken over by bookkeeping. The whole thing is so corrupt. But I suppose that's okay. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/art-has-been-hijacked-by-nonartists-it-s-been-taken-over-by/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [The thing I hate most is false modesty. The artists who are, like, 'Oh, you know, I'm really not that good. Oh, I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/the-thing-i-hate-most-is-false-modesty-the-artists-who-are-like-oh/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [It's pretty cool that artists like Flo Rida and Bingo Players can be inspired to interpret a song like 'Piano in the Dark' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-russell/it-s-pretty-cool-that-artists-like-flo-rida-and-bingo-players-can-be/) [Brenda Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-russell/) > [I think what's beautiful when you're looking at artists like Macklemore and you're looking at artists like Ayron Jones, they're proud of Seattle and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-mix-a-lot/i-think-what-s-beautiful-when-you-re-looking-at-artists-like/) [Sir Mix-a-Lot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-mix-a-lot/) > [I love so many different types of music - hard rock, bebop, jazz fusion, R&B. And I've loved meeting and painting so many amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-max/i-love-so-many-different-types-of-music-hard-rock-bebop-jazz-fusion-r/) [Peter Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-max/) > [I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blaine/i-ve-always-liked-artists-like-chris-burden-who-would-take/) [David Blaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blaine/) ## More by Elaine de Kooning > [Every artist returns to things. The drawings that you make as a child or as an adolescent and the ideas that you have as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/every-artist-returns-to-things-the-drawings-that-you-make-as-a-child/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/a-painting-to-me-is-primarily-a-verb-not-a-noun-an-event-first-and/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [I made my first trip west of the Hudson and it was a revelation. The naked musculature of the Rockies was overpowering and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/i-made-my-first-trip-west-of-the-hudson-and-it-was-a-revelation-the/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [I'm more interested in character. Character comes out of the work. Style is applied or imposed on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/i-m-more-interested-in-character-character-comes-out-of-the-work/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [For one thing, I want gesture-any kind of gesture, all kinds of gesture-gentle or brutal, joyous or tragic; the gesture of space soaring, sinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/for-one-thing-i-want-gesture-any-kind-of-gesture-all-kinds-of-gesture/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [Inspiration is indispensable to my work, but it is hard to come by. It is there or it is not; it is a gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/inspiration-is-indispensable-to-my-work-but-it-is-hard-to-come-by-it/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [Art has been hijacked by nonartists. It's been taken over by bookkeeping. The whole thing is so corrupt. But I suppose that's okay. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/art-has-been-hijacked-by-nonartists-it-s-been-taken-over-by/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) > [Women can also be creative in total isolation. I know excellent women artists who do original work without any response to speak of. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/women-can-also-be-creative-in-total-isolation-i-know-excellent-women/) [Elaine de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) [Explore all 9 Elaine de Kooning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/) ## 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": "Artists are like cockroaches; everything is grist for the mill.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elaine de Kooning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything-is-grist-for-the-mill/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything-is-grist-for-the-mill/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/elaine-de-kooning-44764_art_artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything_1361374.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/elaine-de-kooning-44764_art_artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything_1361374.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/elaine-de-kooning-44764_art_artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything_1361374.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Artists are like cockroaches; everything is grist for the mill.” — Elaine de Kooning", "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": "Elaine de Kooning", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-de-kooning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Artists are like cockroaches; everything is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything-is-grist-for-the-mill/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-de-kooning/artists-are-like-cockroaches-everything-is-grist-for-the-mill/#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 } } ] } ```