--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You think you're an artist; prove it" description: "\"You think you're an artist; prove it\" — Laurence Olivier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/laurence-olivier-11163_art_you-think-you-re-an-artist-prove-it-1303_1303608.png" --- # You think you're an artist; prove it ![“You think you're an artist; prove it” quote by Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/laurence-olivier-11163_art_you-think-you-re-an-artist-prove-it-1303_1303608.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/laurence-olivier-11163_art_you-think-you-re-an-artist-prove-it-1303_1303608.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a6f/laurence-olivier-11163_art_you-think-you-re-an-artist-prove-it-1303_1303608.png) > “You think you're an artist; prove it” [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art requires proof through action; claiming talent is insufficient without demonstration. **In simple terms:** Show, don't just say. Key Takeaway Demonstrate your art. Themes creativity confidence performance self‑validation Mood determined assertive Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - auditions - portfolio reviews - public speaking - teaching Key Concepts authenticity skill expression Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports your claim? - How can you prove your artistry? A Different Perspective Talent alone may not convince others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-prove-1271483/) [Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove/) [Prove it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove-it/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-artist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [In this industry, all the heads of labels are men, but every artist has to prove themselves, regardless of their sex. I have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/in-this-industry-all-the-heads-of-labels-are-men-but-every-artist-has/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [I just feel if you are an artist, you always have something to prove, if you are in music or in films, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-combs/i-just-feel-if-you-are-an-artist-you-always-have-something-to-prove/) [Sean Combs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-combs/) > [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/) > [If you're an artist, you've got to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/if-you-re-an-artist-you-ve-got-to-prove-it/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [While love is common, true love is rare, and I believe that few people are fortunate enough to experience it. The roads of regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-buss/while-love-is-common-true-love-is-rare-and-i-believe-that-few-people/) [David Buss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-buss/) > [The English government having determined not to respect my rights as a French citizen and officer, and summoned me before a court martial, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfe-tone/the-english-government-having-determined-not-to-respect-my-rights-as/) [Wolfe Tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfe-tone/) > [Doubt is merely a thought. When experience proves it wrong, it will quickly go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-marston/doubt-is-merely-a-thought-when-experience-proves-it-wrong-it-will/) [Ralph Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-marston/) > [I could name about a dozen paths, and you'd like to have a whole bunch of research on all those paths, and then, eventually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-could-name-about-a-dozen-paths-and-you-d-like-to-have-a-whole-bunch/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The female sex has no greater fan than I, and I have the bills to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jay-lerner/the-female-sex-has-no-greater-fan-than-i-and-i-have-the-bills-to/) [Alan Jay Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jay-lerner/) > [To meditate does not mean to fight with a problem. To meditate means to observe. Your smile proves it. It proves that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/to-meditate-does-not-mean-to-fight-with-a-problem-to-meditate-means/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [I think God runs the show. Completely. Life proves it every day: He runs the show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariska-hargitay/i-think-god-runs-the-show-completely-life-proves-it-every-day-he-runs/) [Mariska Hargitay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariska-hargitay/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Listen to everyone, read everything; believe absolutely nothing unless you can prove it in your own right!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-william-cooper/listen-to-everyone-read-everything-believe-absolutely-nothing-unless/) [Milton William Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-william-cooper/) > [When you are younger, you pretend to believe, but you are proving it to everyone and to yourself. The change comes when you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mencia/when-you-are-younger-you-pretend-to-believe-but-you-are-proving-it-to/) [Carlos Mencia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mencia/) > [The Bible rose to the place it now occupies because it deserved to rise to that place, and not because God sent anybody with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/the-bible-rose-to-the-place-it-now-occupies-because-it-deserved-to/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) ## More by Laurence Olivier > [I often think that could we creep behind the actor's eyes, we would find an attic of forgotten toys and a copy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/i-often-think-that-could-we-creep-behind-the-actor-s-eyes-we-would/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [Autograph-hunting is the most unattractive manifestation of sex-starved curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/autograph-hunting-is-the-most-unattractive-manifestation-of-sex/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [Acting is an everlasting search for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/acting-is-an-everlasting-search-for-truth/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [I believe in the theater; I believe in it as the first glamorizer of thought. It restores dramatic dynamics and their relations to life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/i-believe-in-the-theater-i-believe-in-it-as-the-first-glamorizer-of/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [I suppose, unconsciously, I used all my wives to further my journey up the ladder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/i-suppose-unconsciously-i-used-all-my-wives-to-further-my-journey-up/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [ “\[in 1979\] You must have - besides intuition and sensitivity - a cutting edge that allows you to reach what you need. Also, you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/in-1979-you-must-have-besides-intuition-and-sensitivity-a-cutting/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [Acting, is not a profession for adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/acting-is-not-a-profession-for-adults/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [Life is enthusiasm, zest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/life-is-enthusiasm-zest/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [If I wasn't an actor, I think I'd have gone mad. You have to have extra voltage, some extra temperament to reach certain heights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/if-i-wasn-t-an-actor-i-think-i-d-have-gone-mad-you-have-to-have-extra/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [ \[on whether he harbored any resentment at his forced retirement from the stage after he was fired by Britain's National Theater\] I should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/on-whether-he-harbored-any-resentment-at-his-forced-retirement-from/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [I have to act to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/i-have-to-act-to-live/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [If he was lost for a moment, he would dive straight back into its honey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/if-he-was-lost-for-a-moment-he-would-dive-straight-back-into-its-honey/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [If you're an artist, you've got to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/if-you-re-an-artist-you-ve-got-to-prove-it/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [Lead the audience by the nose to the thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/lead-the-audience-by-the-nose-to-the-thought/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [A sexual athlete is not likely to find sufficient energy for work of another athletic kind, and the acting of great parts most definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/a-sexual-athlete-is-not-likely-to-find-sufficient-energy-for-work-of/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) [Explore all 61 Laurence Olivier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) ## 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. 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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. 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