--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists don’t get down to work until the…" description: "\"Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working.\" — Stephen De Staebler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/stephen-de-staebler-70841_art_artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the_1200823.jpg" --- # Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working… ![“Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working.” quote by Stephen De Staebler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/stephen-de-staebler-70841_art_artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the_1200823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/stephen-de-staebler-70841_art_artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the_1200823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/stephen-de-staebler-70841_art_artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the_1200823.jpg) > “Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working.” Stephen De Staebler ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists only begin working when the discomfort of not creating outweighs the pain of the work itself. **In simple terms:** Pain of in drives creation. Key Takeaway Start when avoidance feels worse than effort. Themes creativity motivation pain productivity Mood determined urgent Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - studio practice - writing projects - musical composition - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts Psychology of procrastination artistic drive Questions to Reflect On - What discomfort pushes you to act? - How do you balance pain and pleasure in work? A Different Perspective Fear of failure may still hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I understand the pain of working-class Americans because I have experienced the pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-understand-the-pain-of-working-class-americans-because-i-have/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I do my best work when I am in pain and turmoil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/i-do-my-best-work-when-i-am-in-pain-and-turmoil/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [“We have to try and enjoy our work, after all, and pain always awakens my dark side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callie-hart/we-have-to-try-and-enjoy-our-work-after-all-and-pain-always-awakens/) [Callie Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callie-hart/) > [“Suffering is people not caring about your work. Pain is you not caring about work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/suffering-is-people-not-caring-about-your-work-pain-is-you-not-caring/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [“You really are an artist, aren’t you? 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That's real love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-wanting-the-best-for-someone-you-love-even-if-they-feel-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. 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I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) ## More by Stephen De Staebler > [Clay can be a metaphor for many things. I made it a metaphor for flesh and earth, and these are two kinds of generic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-de-staebler/clay-can-be-a-metaphor-for-many-things-i-made-it-a-metaphor-for-flesh/) Stephen De Staebler > [I have discovered that the unasked-for accident can be the salvation of what you are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-de-staebler/i-have-discovered-that-the-unasked-for-accident-can-be-the-salvation/) Stephen De Staebler > [There is an investment of your own life experience in something as innocent as colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-de-staebler/there-is-an-investment-of-your-own-life-experience-in-something-as/) Stephen De Staebler Explore all 4 Stephen De Staebler quotes ## 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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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 don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen De Staebler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-de-staebler/artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the-pain-of-working-is-exceeded/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-de-staebler/artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the-pain-of-working-is-exceeded/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/stephen-de-staebler-70841_art_artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the_1200823.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/stephen-de-staebler-70841_art_artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the_1200823.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/stephen-de-staebler-70841_art_artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the_1200823.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Artists don’t get down to work until the pain of working is exceeded by the pain of not working.” — Stephen De Staebler", "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": "Stephen De Staebler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-de-staebler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Artists don’t get down to work...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-de-staebler/artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the-pain-of-working-is-exceeded/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-de-staebler/artists-don-t-get-down-to-work-until-the-pain-of-working-is-exceeded/#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 } } ] } ```