Quotes: Oliver Burkeman

"And I am free to aspire not to a life without problems, but to a life of ever more interesting and absorbing ones."

–– Oliver Burkeman (b. 1975), British author and journalist 

Source: Oliver Burkeman. Meditations for Mortals. Toronto: Allen Lane, 2024; p. 78. 

via: Commonplace Book, 2024, 2025, p. 43.

Quotes: Tracy Kidder

""It's like geography," says Jim. "The interesting parts are the edges: Where things come together. The middle parts that are all the same are not so interesting to me." 

–– Tracy Kidder (b. 1945), American writer 

via: Commonplace Book 1999-2001, 2001. 

Quotes: Richard Osman

"You are simply a little lost, Donna. And if one is never lost in life, then clearly one has never traveled anywhere interesting." 

–– Richard Osman (b. 1970), English writer, TV presenter and producer, and comedian.

Source: Richard Osman. The Man Who Died Twice. London: Viking (Penguin Random House), 2021; p. 254. (Ibrahim Arif to Donna)

via 2020 Aboveground Art Supplies Knapsack Sketchbook, 2022, p. 18. 

Quotes: Daniel Clowes

"I always think of style as something that's the difference between what you want something to look like, and what your hand and brain make it look like unintentionally. And there's quite a gap there, and there's some interesting stuff in that gap." 

–– Daniel Clowes (b. 1961), American cartoonist, illustrator, and screenwriter 

Source: Austin Kleon, January 15, 2020.

via: Art Alternatives Knapsack Sketchbook J 2020-2023, 2022, p. 27.

Quotes: Billy Baldwin

"Nothing, and I mean nothing, is interesting unless it is personal." 

–– Billy Baldwin (1903-1983), American Interior Designer 

Source: Beata Heuman. Every Room Should Sing. New York: Rizzoli, 2021; p. 13. 

via: Sketchbook 33, 2023, p. 56.

Quotes: Agnes Varda

"If you keep your eyes open and your mind open, everything can be interesting." 

–– Agnes Varda (1928-2019), French artist, film director, photographer and screenwriter 

Source: Nitch, Instagram, April 23, 2023 

via: Sketchbook 33, 2023, p. 23.

Quotes: Paul Gardner

"A painting is never finished – it simply stops in interesting places." 

–– Paul Gardner (1933-2000), American visual artist, writer, and critic 

via: Sketchbook 32, 2022, p. 123.

Quotes: Dyson + Cage

"I think it's very important to be idle ... people who keep themselves busy all the time are generally not creative." -- Freeman Dyson 


"In Zen they say: If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, try it for eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and so on. Eventually one discovers that it's not boring but very interesting." -- John Cage