Artists, scientist, poets, novelists, actors and film directors have, over the centuries, declared there to be one essential ingredient to creative success: solitude. From Picasso to Kafka, and Tim Burton to John Cleese, solitude has been found to not only provide the impetus for unique and profound expressions of art, but has provided the creative independence needed to perfect talents and skills.
This article features a collection of over 30 instructive and enlightening quotes on creativity.
Feel free to share or tweet any that speak to you!
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30+ Introvert Quotes on Creativity
“Talent is nurtured in solitude … A creation of importance can only be produced when its author isolates himself, it is a child of solitude.” ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Göethe
“Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself.” ~ Franz Kafka
“Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.” ~ Jessamyn West
“The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. Originality thrives in seclusion free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone—that is the secret of invention: be alone, that is when ideas are born.” ~ Nikola Tesla
“Without great solitude no serious work is possible.” ~ Pablo Picasso
“… practically all creative people, and certainly most geniuses, have preferred to be alone for long periods, especially when producing their best work.” ~ Raj Persaud, ‘One Hundred Tears of Solitude’
“Every kind of creative work demands solitude, and being alone, constructively alone, is a prerequisite for every phase of the creative process.” ~ Barbara Powell
“I’m gonna go live in a cave, just completely live in my interior world.” ~ Tim Burton
“A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds.” ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.” ~ Aldous Huxley
“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.” ~ Albert Einstein
“One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“The urge, ability and vision to create is a solo endeavor.” ~ Linda Archinal
“The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid: the state of being alone.” ~ James Baldwin
“And to get the work done that I must do, one has to work in isolation and not be readily disturbed… I don’t have daily newspapers, and I like to feel when I get up in the morning my attention is fixed on the work I am going to do.” ~ Reg Butler
“The main reason for the solitude to work is because people won’t shut up when they’re around, which makes it hard to hear yourself imagine.” ~ Gail Caduff-Nash
“History shows that the majority of people that have done anything great have passed their youth in seclusion.” ~ Thomas Carlyle
“To be creative you must create a space for yourself where you can be undisturbed… separate from everyday concerns.” ~ John Cleese
“Art starts alone – and convinces society later.” ~ Douglas Davis
“On their best days, writers all over the world are winning Pulitzers, all alone in their studios, with no one watching.” ~ Jeffrey Eugenides
“And here in my isolation I can grow stronger. Poetry seems to come of itself, without effort, and I need only let myself dream a little while painting to suggest it.” ~ Paul Gauguin
“Artists with serious aspirations need to be left alone to follow the course of their own imagination.” ~ Robert Genn
“Often whole days pass without my speaking to anyone.” ~ Vincent van Gogh
“Solitude is independence.” ~ Hermann Hesse
“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver
“Because she favours solitude and indwelling, an artist can live a significantly more claustrophobic life that she had ever intended.” ~ Eric Maisel
“My work is always better when I am alone and follow my own impressions.” ~ Claude Monet
“A career is born in public – talent in privacy.” ~ Marilyn Monroe
“I realized… that the artist is always alone. Early in life I had thought I needed other people to confirm or approve what I was doing…” ~ Beverly Pepper
“Because I cannot work except in solitude, it is necessary that I live my work and that is impossible except in solitude.” ~ Pablo Picasso
“What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power can easily destroy.” ~ Salman Rushdie
“The artist is a strange being. I think it’s safe to say that a real artist is conscious of having a personal singularity that is partly a blessing and partly a curse. An artist enjoys and suffers from isolation. As solitude, isolation can nurture. It can also destroy.” ~ Peter Schjeldahl
“Isolation can lead to uniqueness, but uniqueness also walks the halls of mental institutions.” ~ Winston Seeney
“Alone, and without any reference to his neighbours, without any interference, the artist can fashion a beautiful thing; and if he does not do it solely for his own pleasure, he is not an artist at all.” ~ Oscar Wilde
Did you like these quotes?
This article is part of a series of quote articles. Our collection of quote articles deal with a variety of thought-provoking topics; Solitude, Love, Education, Wisdom and Creativity. Feel free to browse through some of them.
Photo by Mara ~earth light~ on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
As an introvert, I SO cherish my solitude. It’s like ‘oxygen’ to me. So even if I love being around people, my close friends and family, if I don’t get my space to get my energies back, then I start to get grouchy. Love the quotes.
Ditto Jan! Thank you for reading!
-L
I truly understand those quotations about creative loners. In remember that in elementary School a teacher once asked me why I´m always sitting alone. I, bright smiling, nodded although I didn´t understand his question. Also later in middle School and high school I discovered that I was feeling happier when being alone. I´ve never been like the other Girls who live for Party, drugs, boyfriends, fashion and facebook. Everytime I tried to socialize I found myself saying nothing because I didn´t know what to answer. That´s why I´m spending my freetime listening to music and creating and drawing fantasy characters. there was a time in my life I felt like these fictional characters are my true friends. I felt like I could talk to them. It made me happy to make them think about values, society and morality. Sometimes I asked myself whether I’m suffering from solitude or paranoia or even both.
This is the first time I read about people who think that solitude is a great thing. Maybe I´m not that weird I always thought.
(I hope you understand what I’ve written. English is not my native language)
Hello Silja. It’s amazing how a few lines from a famous poet or writer can suddenly transform the way you think about life, or fill you with joy and wonder. So I’m happy to hear that you can empathize with these quotes, and reflect them in your own life.
One of the biggest things you will learn when going through this website is that solitude and loneliness are not the same things. Solitude has been used and pursued by many people through the years to find peace, harmony and spiritual awareness. Loneliness on the other hand, is not sought out by a person, and instead creates depression, stagnation and cynicism. This is only a very brief and short description, but you will read more as you make your way through this blog.
Thank you for reading!
Is there a sister organisation to yours in the UK? I’d like to join it if so.
Ian London, UK
Hello Ian!
Currently we are hosting workshops in Spain and we have just come back from our Italian ones, but at the moment the only active Involutionary groups we host is in Australia on a regular basis. If there is enough interest in England, in the future we will definitely host some there. You Brits are our Aussie sister nation after all :)
Being an extrovert who is also a writer, I cannot relate to some of those quotes. I am fuelled by passion, and the passion I share and witness in other people fuels my own. Yes, I need to work in isolation while I am writing. but the rest of the time I enjoy being with others and sharing thoughts and experiences. I think that’s why I enjoy social media so much.
Thanks for your insights Doreen. It’s not surprising that you don’t relate to many of these quotes, after all, most of these people are introverted in some way or another! It amazing how two seemingly similar people on the outside can function so differently inside. As an introvert I’m inspired by the works of others, which in a sense fuels me … the only difference is … they’re mostly dead :P
You’ve attributed the below quote to two different people. Which one really said it?
“One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude.”
Thanks for pointing that out Bronze. Sometimes you find the same quotes by different people and absent mindedly repeat them. I’ve rectified it :)