--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The environment itself was culturally a…" description: "\"The environment itself was culturally a vacuum, in that there was simply nothing that would inspire me in the arts. But my parents were always very sup..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/paul-smith-10839_art_the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a_2088842.png" --- # The environment itself was culturally a vacuum, in that… ![“The environment itself was culturally a vacuum, in that there was simply nothing that would inspire me in the arts. But my parents were always very supportive of anything that I explored or wanted to do.” quote by Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/paul-smith-10839_art_the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a_2088842.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/paul-smith-10839_art_the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a_2088842.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/paul-smith-10839_art_the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a_2088842.png) > “The environment itself was culturally a vacuum, in that there was simply nothing that would inspire me in the arts. But my parents were always very supportive of anything that I explored or wanted to do.” [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lack of cultural inspiration can be offset by supportive family, fostering personal artistic growth. **In simple terms:** Family support can spark creativity despite cultural emptiness. Key Takeaway Seek supportive networks. Themes art family inspiration Mood reflective hopeful Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - studio work - family encouragement - self‑directed projects Key Concepts creative block personal development Questions to Reflect On - Who supports your creative goals? - How do you find inspiration? A Different Perspective Without support, motivation may wane. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Arts Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arts-parents-4118566/) [Culturally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culturally/) [Culturally Vacuum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culturally-vacuum-4118565/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Environment Culturally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment-culturally-4118567/) [Inspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspire/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents Supportive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-supportive/) [Supportive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supportive/) [Vacuums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vacuums/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [My parents are so supportive of whatever we want to do and completely nurtured that, and they're so proud of that as well. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-john-kamen/my-parents-are-so-supportive-of-whatever-we-want-to-do-and-completely/) [Hannah John-Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-john-kamen/) > [My parents are always supportive of anything their kids do. They point out the pros and cons, but they let you make your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-mondale/my-parents-are-always-supportive-of-anything-their-kids-do-they-point/) [Eleanor Mondale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-mondale/) > [I was singing when I was two years old, and my parents were very supportive, but they weren't musicians themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/i-was-singing-when-i-was-two-years-old-and-my-parents-were-very/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [My parents have been very supportive, in fact, it was my mother who identified that what I was going through was actually depression. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/my-parents-have-been-very-supportive-in-fact-it-was-my-mother-who/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) > [I dropped out of college my junior year to do saturday night live, and I didn't even consult my parents. They were very supportive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-louis-dreyfus/i-dropped-out-of-college-my-junior-year-to-do-saturday-night-live-and/) [Julia Louis-Dreyfus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-louis-dreyfus/) > [My parents were very supportive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prithvi-shaw/my-parents-were-very-supportive/) [Prithvi Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prithvi-shaw/) > [Nobody in my family has ever been into the field of acting. But I always wanted to be an actor and I thank my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-khan/nobody-in-my-family-has-ever-been-into-the-field-of-acting-but-i/) [Sara Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-khan/) > [My parents were supportive of my creativity but did not have a lot of patience for whimsy with zero production value. They had stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/my-parents-were-supportive-of-my-creativity-but-did-not-have-a-lot-of/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I remember my mom being very scared the first few auditions. My parents are very supportive, but they're also very realistic, which is great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-garner/i-remember-my-mom-being-very-scared-the-first-few-auditions-my/) [Julia Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-garner/) > [My parents have always been very supportive. I didn't go to school because my home was my school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-mamet/my-parents-have-always-been-very-supportive-i-didn-t-go-to-school/) [Clara Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-mamet/) > [I grew up in a family with three siblings. My parents were always very supportive and encouraging. It was important for them that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryam-mirzakhani/i-grew-up-in-a-family-with-three-siblings-my-parents-were-always-very/) [Maryam Mirzakhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryam-mirzakhani/) > [My parents have been very supportive. To survive in this industry, you need a great support system, and I am really blessed to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kriti-kharbanda/my-parents-have-been-very-supportive-to-survive-in-this-industry-you/) [Kriti Kharbanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kriti-kharbanda/) > [I look back and thank God for my parents who were supportive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neelam-kothari/i-look-back-and-thank-god-for-my-parents-who-were-supportive/) [Neelam Kothari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neelam-kothari/) > [My parents were very supportive of my chess. When I got home after a game of chess, having missed school or something, they always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viswanathan-anand/my-parents-were-very-supportive-of-my-chess-when-i-got-home-after-a/) [Viswanathan Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viswanathan-anand/) > [I've wanted to be a comedian since I was a kid, and my parents were very supportive of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-gelman/i-ve-wanted-to-be-a-comedian-since-i-was-a-kid-and-my-parents-were/) [Brett Gelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-gelman/) ## More by Paul Smith > [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [I've always been a keen cyclist, I'm very close to the world of cycling. Not just cycling really - also walking, adventures, being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-ve-always-been-a-keen-cyclist-i-m-very-close-to-the-world-of/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [I learned from books that I picked up. That was something that just came out of nowhere but continued to be an attraction. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-learned-from-books-that-i-picked-up-that-was-something-that-just/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [At the end of the elementary program, I then had to move onto high school. Simultaneously, my parents moved to Attica to a suburban…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/at-the-end-of-the-elementary-program-i-then-had-to-move-onto-high/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [You can find inspiration in everything. If you can't, then you're not looking properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/you-can-find-inspiration-in-everything-if-you-can-t-then-you-re-not/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [I think I was really naïve. I had no context to think about what I wanted to do. Each step was a next stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-think-i-was-really-na-ve-i-had-no-context-to-think-about-what-i/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [One association with the arts that I vividly remember was a magazine called Normal Instructor, a teachers' magazine, that Miss George would hold up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/one-association-with-the-arts-that-i-vividly-remember-was-a-magazine/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [ The class situation \[at Art Institute on Elmwood Avenue\] was such that one would be very much on their own to paint or draw.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/the-class-situation-at-art-institute-on-elmwood-avenue-was-such-that/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [Fortunately, I had cousins who lived in Buffalo and would often go to visit them, which I loved to do because I liked Buffalo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/fortunately-i-had-cousins-who-lived-in-buffalo-and-would-often-go-to/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [I was painting furniture, learning to stencil, and explore all kinds of traditional techniques of decoration. I learned from books that I picked up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-was-painting-furniture-learning-to-stencil-and-explore-all-kinds-of/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [At one point I had dreams of being in the school band, but I didn't play an instrument that qualified me, and that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/at-one-point-i-had-dreams-of-being-in-the-school-band-but-i-didn-t/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [When life closes a door, God opens a window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/when-life-closes-a-door-god-opens-a-window/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [My parents never prevented me from doing anything, but they didn't have the knowledge of the arts that Mrs. Ranger had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/my-parents-never-prevented-me-from-doing-anything-but-they-didn-t/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [Being born in '31 was during the Depression and in my earlier youth World War II took place - so it was not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/being-born-in-31-was-during-the-depression-and-in-my-earlier-youth/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [In a social studies class I did a paper on the history of Attica, which ended up being a little book that I created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/in-a-social-studies-class-i-did-a-paper-on-the-history-of-attica/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) [Explore all 63 Paul Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) ## 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": "The environment itself was culturally a vacuum, in that there was simply nothing that would inspire me in the arts. But my parents were always very supportive of anything that I explored or wanted to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a-vacuum-in-that-there-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a-vacuum-in-that-there-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/paul-smith-10839_art_the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a_2088842.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/paul-smith-10839_art_the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a_2088842.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/paul-smith-10839_art_the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a_2088842.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The environment itself was culturally a vacuum, in that there was simply nothing that would inspire me in…” — Paul Smith", "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": "Paul Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The environment itself was culturally a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a-vacuum-in-that-there-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/the-environment-itself-was-culturally-a-vacuum-in-that-there-was/#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 } } ] } ```