James Sanborn Quotes

To confer the gift of drawing, we must create an eye that sees, a hand that obeys, a soul that feels; and in this task, the whole life must cooperate. In this sense, life itself is the only preparation for drawing. Once we have lived, the inner spark of vision does the rest.

The more I see and know about life, the more ideas I have and the more I want to make art.

I love how people in this business push themselves to know themselves, the world, and their creativity better.

With sculpting, nothing is cloudy or mystical. It's just about this object, and if you're trying to depict reality, and you do it well, then the outcome is the truth.

You have something that exists in your head, and getting that abstract thought from your head into something that actually exists is a difficult process.

When a sketch comes into this three-dimensional form and everybody contributes, it's really fantastic.

Growing up, I enjoyed drawing, but it was always in the service of an idea. I drew all the time, and I enjoyed making.

That's what I find so special: when you actually imagine something. But really, when it comes to you in a dream, and then you can bring it to life on the screen, it's very powerful.

The stressful time is the blank page at the beginning. When you're starting to see things being made flesh, and you're able to respond to that flesh, that's really exciting.

Now I really make the little idea from clay, and I hold it in my hand. I can turn it, look at it from underneath, see it from one view, hold it against the sky, imagine it any size I like, and really be in control almost like God creating something.

The core of creation is to summon an image and the power to work with the image.

When I was living in Mexico, I started reassessing my drawing style, and plunged into a period of doing exercises and research to develop a new way to draw. The result was a style that implies more than it shows, and so, ironically, feels more "true" to the scene I want to draw than a style that is more specific. It seems to me that the reader's imagination is able to fill in the gaps more effectively than I ever could. Plus it's a lot faster and more fun to do.

I was always making things. Even though art was what I did every day, it didn't even occur to me that I would be an artist.

I get lost in my right brain, especially in creative things.

I don't really think too much about special effects because that's not really something I can clearly visualize, so I leave that to the pros.

That's what's great about the arts. Everything inspires you, and you get a chance to grow from watching other people and how they do their work.

I love to create, and to me, the ultimate freedom of expression is a blank canvas or a block of clay to capture whatever emotions your imagination gives it.

Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction.

It is important to make your own stuff. Even if you are not an actor, it is important to not stop involving yourself as a creative person.

I think very abstractly when I'm writing. Then, as the project moves on, it becomes more like sculpting.

Filmmaking is finding a piece of granite and you start to chip away and then you have the shape of a head, the shape of the arm, you can see the shape of the face and the face starts to gather character. You have to find it.

Anyone who does anything creative is always gonna want to change.

Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer neither.

I try to stay focused on my creativity.

My main thing is just to keep writing. I've been doing some songwriting that's for my own record, I suppose.