--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Always have one artistic thing that is…" description: "\"Always have one artistic thing that is pure, at least one thing, where you don’t compromise. You can do other things to make money, but have one pure a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/james-franco-2025_art_always-have-one-artistic-thing-that-is-p_81975.jpg" --- # Always have one artistic thing that is pure, at least one… ![“Always have one artistic thing that is pure, at least one thing, where you don’t compromise. You can do other things to make money, but have one pure area.” quote by James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/james-franco-2025_art_always-have-one-artistic-thing-that-is-p_81975.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/james-franco-2025_art_always-have-one-artistic-thing-that-is-p_81975.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/258/james-franco-2025_art_always-have-one-artistic-thing-that-is-p_81975.jpg) > “Always have one artistic thing that is pure, at least one thing, where you don’t compromise. You can do other things to make money, but have one pure area.” [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates preserving an uncompromised creative pursuit amidst commercial work, emphasizing artistic integrity. **In simple terms:** Keep a pure artistic focus. Key Takeaway Balance art and income. Themes artistic integrity creative purity commercial compromise personal fulfillment balance Mood determined inspired reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - freelance artist juggling gigs - musician with side jobs - designer taking on corporate contracts - writer doing ghostwriting - visual artist selling prints Key Concepts creativity authenticity sustainability Practical Applications - maintain personal artistic standards - use commercial work to fund pure projects Questions to Reflect On - How does compromising affect your creative voice? - What pure project could you protect today? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [“We have lived for too long with the arts as the pretty bit around the edge with the reality as a non-artistic thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/we-have-lived-for-too-long-with-the-arts-as-the-pretty-bit-around-the/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The public is largely influenced by the look of a book. So are we all. It is the only artistic thing about the public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-public-is-largely-influenced-by-the-look-of-a-book-so-are-we-all/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [My nature is to compromise and get things done for the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-chandrababu-naidu/my-nature-is-to-compromise-and-get-things-done-for-the-state/) [N. Chandrababu Naidu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-chandrababu-naidu/) > [In a country as large and diverse as America, compromise is how we get things done. It isn't always pretty, but we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-udall/in-a-country-as-large-and-diverse-as-america-compromise-is-how-we-get/) [Mark Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-udall/) > [Compromise is part of how we get things done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-reynolds/compromise-is-part-of-how-we-get-things-done/) [Kim Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-reynolds/) > [From compromise and things half done, Keep me with stern and stubborn pride; And when at last the fight is won, God, keep me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-untermeyer/from-compromise-and-things-half-done-keep-me-with-stern-and-stubborn/) [Louis Untermeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-untermeyer/) > [What I want to try to prove is that artistic games, when done properly, can still be a commercial success. By doing that, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/what-i-want-to-try-to-prove-is-that-artistic-games-when-done-properly/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [When we idealize the real, we sacrifice to artistic fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/when-we-idealize-the-real-we-sacrifice-to-artistic-fancy/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [It took me a long time to get to where I am, but I am here and it is everywhere I want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-get-to-where-i-am-but-i-am-here-and-it-is/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) ## More by James Franco > [I love that the idea of examining memory, and the way memory is edited was made more interesting because it was being filtered through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-love-that-the-idea-of-examining-memory-and-the-way-memory-is-edited/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [Reviews about film acting are very... tricky, because movies are such a collaborative thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/reviews-about-film-acting-are-very-tricky-because-movies-are-such-a/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [ I went to NYU graduate film school and met Pam \[Romanowsky\], and after doing a few things with her I thought she had the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-went-to-nyu-graduate-film-school-and-met-pam-romanowsky-and-after/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [I was a black center in the middle of all the nature. I was nothing, but I could do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-was-a-black-center-in-the-middle-of-all-the-nature-i-was-nothing/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [I hate being an actor, they dress you and put on your makeup and you just feel like a little baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-hate-being-an-actor-they-dress-you-and-put-on-your-makeup-and-you/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [I've been acting for many years now, and I find there's nothing I enjoy more than making films with my friends and people I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-ve-been-acting-for-many-years-now-and-i-find-there-s-nothing-i/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [The wind came in languid gusts like whispered reminders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/the-wind-came-in-languid-gusts-like-whispered-reminders/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [In a movie, a book, or a play, a character doesn't live in a vacuum. She is subject to pressures from the world outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/in-a-movie-a-book-or-a-play-a-character-doesn-t-live-in-a-vacuum-she/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [Anyone has outside influences. They are the results of the cosmic roll of the dice: this person is born Aragon the Ranger, this person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/anyone-has-outside-influences-they-are-the-results-of-the-cosmic-roll/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [I have high aspirations. I want to be an architect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-have-high-aspirations-i-want-to-be-an-architect/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [If you have a profession that depends on what you look like, you can't blame somebody for caring about that. It's part of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/if-you-have-a-profession-that-depends-on-what-you-look-like-you-can-t/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [Everyone pretends to be normal and be your best friend, but underneath, everyone is living some other life you don't know about, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/everyone-pretends-to-be-normal-and-be-your-best-friend-but-underneath/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [I don't like sleeping in a bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/i-don-t-like-sleeping-in-a-bed/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [My favorite role ever was Alien in 'Spring Breakers'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/my-favorite-role-ever-was-alien-in-spring-breakers/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [Most of the books that I've adapted I'm doing because I love the book and I feel like it's a great work of art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/most-of-the-books-that-i-ve-adapted-i-m-doing-because-i-love-the-book/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) [Explore all 191 James Franco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) ## 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. 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