--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Doing fine, thank you, I would say, never…" description: "\"Doing fine, thank you, I would say, never knowing how to talk about what I do. If I could talk about it, I would not have to do it. I make art, sometim..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/neil-gaiman-29_art_doing-fine-thank-you-i-would-say-never-k_2091936.jpg" --- # Doing fine, thank you, I would say, never knowing how to… ![“Doing fine, thank you, I would say, never knowing how to talk about what I do. If I could talk about it, I would not have to do it. I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it fills the empty places in my heart. Some of them. Not all.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/neil-gaiman-29_art_doing-fine-thank-you-i-would-say-never-k_2091936.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/neil-gaiman-29_art_doing-fine-thank-you-i-would-say-never-k_2091936.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/neil-gaiman-29_art_doing-fine-thank-you-i-would-say-never-k_2091936.jpg) > “Doing fine, thank you, I would say, never knowing how to talk about what I do. If I could talk about it, I would not have to do it. I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it fills the empty places in my heart. Some of them. Not all.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker struggles to articulate their creative work, feeling that true expression would eliminate the need to create. **In simple terms:** Hard to describe art; creating fills emotional gaps. Key Takeaway Accept that some art is ineffable. Themes creativity self‑expression artistic struggle Mood introspective melancholic Type reflective personal When to use this quote - artist interviews - personal journals - creative workshops Key Concepts existentialism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you convey what words cannot? - What does creating fill in you? A Different Perspective Art may remain beyond verbal capture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Doing Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-fine/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Empty places](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty-places/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Make Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-art-251083/) [My heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-heart/) [Say Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-knowing-448874/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) ## Related quotes > [I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it fills the empty places in my life. Some of them. Not all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-make-art-sometimes-i-make-true-art-and-sometimes-it-fills-the-empty/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If I could talk about it, I would not have to do it. I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-i-could-talk-about-it-i-would-not-have-to-do-it-i-make-art/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“If I could talk about it, I would not have to do it. I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-i-could-talk-about-it-i-would-not-have-to-do-it-i-make-art-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [People in big empty places are likely to behave very much as the gods did on Olympus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/people-in-big-empty-places-are-likely-to-behave-very-much-as-the-gods/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [ “The wise ones say that there is knowing in the knowing that one doesn’t know. \[122\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unathi-magubeni/the-wise-ones-say-that-there-is-knowing-in-the-knowing-that-one-doesn/) [Unathi Magubeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unathi-magubeni/) > [The scientist … must always be prepared to deal with the unknown. 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I make art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-i-could-talk-about-it-i-would-not-have-to-do-it-i-make-art-3/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. 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If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## 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. 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