--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd rather be somewhere building a house…" description: "\"I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind of thing.\" — Willis Ear..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/willis-earl-beal-16819_architecture_i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house_60191.jpg" --- # I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how… ![“I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind of thing.” quote by Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/willis-earl-beal-16819_architecture_i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house_60191.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/willis-earl-beal-16819_architecture_i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house_60191.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/willis-earl-beal-16819_architecture_i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house_60191.jpg) > “I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind of thing.” [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) ## 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 values tangible, skilled labor over the perceived pretentiousness of professional art, seeing manual creation as more authentic. **In simple terms:** Prefers practical work to artistic status. Key Takeaway Hands‑on creation feels more real. Themes authenticity labor value art vs work self‑worth craftsmanship Mood reflective skeptical determined Type personal philosophy critique of art industry career reflection When to use this quote - career decision‑making - self‑esteem crisis - creative block - job satisfaction - skill acquisition Key Concepts manual labor self‑identity social perception Practical Applications - career counseling - motivational speaking Questions to Reflect On - What does 'building a house' symbolize for you? - How do you define a meaningful profession? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Building A House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-a-house/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ## Related quotes > [Building a house is like producing a movie. There's no right way to do it but a lot of wrong ways. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/building-a-house-is-like-producing-a-movie-there-s-no-right-way-to-do/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [I liked my father's work. But above all I liked the idea of doing something concrete and useful. Building a house is a metaphor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-zanetti/i-liked-my-father-s-work-but-above-all-i-liked-the-idea-of-doing/) [Javier Zanetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-zanetti/) > [Living life.. is like building a house, you have to have a solid foundation before you begin to build or your whole structure will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/living-life-is-like-building-a-house-you-have-to-have-a-solid/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Writing a book I have found to be like building a house. A man forms a plan, and collects materials. He thinks he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/writing-a-book-i-have-found-to-be-like-building-a-house-a-man-forms-a/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Building a house is a lot like moviemaking. The attention to detail, the sense that you're doing something that has longevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-beatty/building-a-house-is-a-lot-like-moviemaking-the-attention-to-detail/) [Warren Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-beatty/) > [Like building a house, travel always costs more than you estimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilka-chase/like-building-a-house-travel-always-costs-more-than-you-estimate/) [Ilka Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilka-chase/) > [Too often when we're buying or building a house we do not consider each room. We are carried away by one charming feature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-draper/too-often-when-we-re-buying-or-building-a-house-we-do-not-consider/) [Dorothy Draper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-draper/) > [I've been working with contractors designing and building a house on a nonstop basis since I learned about all these systems of audio, construction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-fadell/i-ve-been-working-with-contractors-designing-and-building-a-house-on/) [Tony Fadell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-fadell/) > [Building a baseball team is like building a house. You look for the best architects, the best builders - and then you let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-gillick/building-a-baseball-team-is-like-building-a-house-you-look-for-the/) [Pat Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-gillick/) > [Sex is so important in a Relationship, is like the foundation when you are building a house !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/sex-is-so-important-in-a-relationship-is-like-the-foundation-when-you/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Providing health care is like building a house. The task requires experts, expensive equipment and materials, and a huge amount of coordination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/providing-health-care-is-like-building-a-house-the-task-requires/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Building a house from scratch in the middle of a field is a bit like building a prototype car. As with all prototypes, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccloud/building-a-house-from-scratch-in-the-middle-of-a-field-is-a-bit-like/) [Kevin McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccloud/) > [I still have a dream of one day - I would love to hire a semi-retired contractor and just build a house - him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meloni/i-still-have-a-dream-of-one-day-i-would-love-to-hire-a-semi-retired/) [Christopher Meloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-meloni/) > [If you're building a house, or doing anything, time is what you've got. Well, there's effort, but you need time. The more time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-simmons/if-you-re-building-a-house-or-doing-anything-time-is-what-you-ve-got/) [Gene Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-simmons/) > [When a man says he is building a house for himself and his posterity, he does not mean to be understood as saying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/when-a-man-says-he-is-building-a-house-for-himself-and-his-posterity/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) ## More by Willis Earl Beal > [The person on the shrine is myself. I listen to my own music constantly. I made a whole other record already. I look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/the-person-on-the-shrine-is-myself-i-listen-to-my-own-music/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I think that live music is really pretentious - all of it. I hate festivals and live shows, because as soon as I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-think-that-live-music-is-really-pretentious-all-of-it-i-hate/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I haven't figured out how to do anything yet besides recording music - I don't even entirely know how to do that. My favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-haven-t-figured-out-how-to-do-anything-yet-besides-recording-music/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [Actually, my ideal life would be to have an evergreen tree farm and, every December, I'd load them up and just stand out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/actually-my-ideal-life-would-be-to-have-an-evergreen-tree-farm-and/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I think the best way to listen to my music is through recording. I would love to be one of those artists where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-think-the-best-way-to-listen-to-my-music-is-through-recording-i/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I don't know what people want. I have delusions of grandeur, but I'm not sitting here talking to you and thinking that I'm the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-don-t-know-what-people-want-i-have-delusions-of-grandeur-but-i-m/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [In a way, the whole music industry is just catering to the inherent esteem issues all these artists have - it lays it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/in-a-way-the-whole-music-industry-is-just-catering-to-the-inherent/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [The only way for me to give a good performance is to make myself extremely uncomfortable - and it just so happens that being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/the-only-way-for-me-to-give-a-good-performance-is-to-make-myself/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I first saw Dead Man in high school, and it changed everything. That movie was like a memory to me - I would get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-first-saw-dead-man-in-high-school-and-it-changed-everything-that/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I deteriorate. I might tell you something one day and then something else another day. You fold in on yourself and that's why this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-deteriorate-i-might-tell-you-something-one-day-and-then-something/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I don't think talent has anything to do with inspiration. Inspiration creates talent. People prioritize innate talent too much. It gives them license to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-don-t-think-talent-has-anything-to-do-with-inspiration-inspiration/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I was not in touch with reality. Growing up, I was being shielded without my knowing it, because even all the way up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-was-not-in-touch-with-reality-growing-up-i-was-being-shielded/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [Sometimes I wish it were a simpler world. I love and hate people. When I say I hate people, I really truly mean it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/sometimes-i-wish-it-were-a-simpler-world-i-love-and-hate-people-when/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I would much rather not be the center of attention, and I'd much rather travel and be writing my novel, rather than standing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-would-much-rather-not-be-the-center-of-attention-and-i-d-much/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I never actually sexually attacked anybody. But I'm a writer, too, and I was always trying to figure out a way to recreate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-never-actually-sexually-attacked-anybody-but-i-m-a-writer-too-and-i/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) [Explore all 38 Willis Earl Beal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) ## More Architecture quotes > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [Architecture is not a profession for the faint-hearted, the weak-willed, or the short-lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architecture-is-not-a-profession-for-the-faint-hearted-the-weak/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [It's not so much about form versus functionality. Rather, it's about doing both and doing them a lot and doing them well-and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-prince-ramus/it-s-not-so-much-about-form-versus-functionality-rather-it-s-about/) [Joshua Prince-Ramus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-prince-ramus/) > [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) [Browse all 3,013 Architecture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind of thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willis Earl Beal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Architecture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/willis-earl-beal-16819_architecture_i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house_60191.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/willis-earl-beal-16819_architecture_i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house_60191.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/willis-earl-beal-16819_architecture_i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house_60191.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is…” — Willis Earl Beal", "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": "Willis Earl Beal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'd rather be somewhere building a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/#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 } } ] } ```