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.