Quotes 248: Juan Gris

"You are lost the instant you know what the result will be." 

–– Juan Gris (1887-1927), Spanish-born, French painter 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 1

Quotes 247: Laura Ingalls Wilder

"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." 

–– Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), American writer

via Sketchbook #1, p.105

Quotes 246: Anatole France

"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act." 

–– Anatole France (1844-1924), French novelist, poet, and journalist 

via: Sketchbook #1, p.66

Quotes 245: Leo Tolstoy

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

–– Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Russian writer 

via Sketchbook #1, p. 62 

Quotes 244: Pablo Picasso

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." 

–– Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Spanish artist 

via Sketchbook #1, p. 31

Quotes 243: Anton Chekhov

"If you want to work on your acting, work on yourself." 

–– Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian writer

via Sketchbook #1, p. 4 

Quotes 242: Charles Darwin

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." 

–– Charles Darwin (1809-1882), British biologist, geologist, and naturalist

via Sketchbook #26, p. 97

Quotes 241: Victor Hugo

"Certain thoughts are prayers. There are certain moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees."

–– Victor Hugo (1802-1885), French writer

via Sketchbook #26, p. 80

Quotes 240: Anonymous

"Pay attention to whom your energy increases and decreases around, because that's the universe giving you a hint of who you should embrace or stray from." 

–– Anonymous 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 74

Quotes 239: Ludwig Wittgenstein

"If people did not sometimes do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done." 

–– Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), Austrian-born British philosopher

via Sketchbook #26, p. 55

Quotes 238: Thomas Merton

"To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times." 

–– Thomas Merton (1915-1968), American Trappist monk, writer, scholar, and social activist

via Sketchbook #26, p. 44

Quotes 237: Mario Batali

"Always choose joy." 

–– Mario Batali (b. 1960), American chef, restauranteur, and writer

via Sketchbook #26, p. 44

Quotes 236: William Powers

"The moments we enjoy most as they unfold, and that we treasure long afterward, are the ones we experience most deeply. Depth roots us in the world, gives life substance and wholeness. It enriches our work, our relationships, everything we do. It's the essential ingredient in a good life and one of the qualities we admire most in others." 

–– William Powers (b. 1961), American writer, journalist, and technologist 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 94 

Quotes 235: José Ortega y Gasset

"Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are." 

–– José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), Spanish philosopher and essayist 

via Sketchbook # 26, p. 93 

Quotes 234: Yohji Yamamoto

"I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion." 

–– Yohji Yamamoto (b. 1943), Japanese fashion designer 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 84

Quotes 233: David Carradine

"If you cannot be a poet, be a poem." 

–– David Carradine (1936-2009), American actor 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 79

Quotes 232: Alan Watts

"Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence." 

–– Alan Watts (1915-1973), British philosopher and writer 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 76 

Quotes 231: Piet Mondrian

"The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel." 

–– Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Dutch painter 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 72 

Quotes 230: Robert Penn Warren

"The poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful. And in the end, the poem is not a thing we see –– it is, rather, a light by which we may see –– and what we see is life." 

–– Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989), American poet, novelist, and literary critic 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 71

Quotes 229: Hafiz

"Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive." 

–– Hafiz (1315-1390), Persian poet 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 66

Quotes 228: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity."

–– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), American poet 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 64

Quotes 227: Helen Keller

"The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart."

–– Helen Keller (1880-1968), American author, disability rights advocate, political activist, and lecturer 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 59 

Quotes 226: Agnes Martin

"Beauty is the mystery of life."

–– Agnes Martin (1912-2004), Canadian-born American abstract painter

via Sketchbook #26, p. 28

Quotes 225: Thelonious Monk

"Don't play everything or every time. Let some things go by. What you don't play can be more important than what you do play." 

–– Thelonious Monk (1917-1982), American jazz pianist and composer 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 22

Quotes 224: Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

"Our concern must be to live while we're alive ... to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are." 

–– Elizabeth Kübler-Ross (1926-2004) Swiss-born American psychiatrist and author

Quotes 223: Joni Mitchell

"I use [painting] as crop rotation in my career, like a farmer. So when the words dry up, rather than go: "Ah, I'm in the middle of writer's block," I just paint. You paint your way through it: You let the song rest. It was very good to be able to keep the creative juices flowing by switching crops and keeping the soil fertile, without the panic of a dry up. Just a farmer's trick. I come from farmers. 

–– Joni Mitchell (b. 1943), Canadian singer-songwriter and painter. 

Source: Joni Mitchell - Woman of Heart and Mind (2003) documentary written and directed by Susan Lacy.  

Quotes 222: Rita Mae Brown

"I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself." 

–– Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944), American feminist writer and activist

Quotes 221: John Lennon

"Creativity is a gift. It doesn't come through if the air is cluttered." 

–– John Lennon (1940-1980), British singer, songwriter, musician, peace activist, and founding member of the Beatles

Quotes 220: Mary Catherine Bateson

"We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn." 

–– Mary Catherine Bateson (1939-2021), American cultural anthropologist and writer 

Quotes 219: Elizabeth Murray

"Try to stay focused and centred in what you want in your work, keeping in mind that your art is about describing your spirit and your life force makes the work better." 

–– Elizabeth Murray (1940-2007), American artist 

Source: @sarahboytsyoder Instagram stories, August 28, 2021