Where Do You Get Your Quotes?

I have been using quotes for many, many years in my art and I am often asked where I get them from.  I started collecting quotes that really resonated with me a long time ago.  This was long before the advent of all of those websites there are today where you can find any kind of quote you desire.  I used to write them down longhand in a booklet or type up lists of them to save and use in my art.

I think that a great quote (or part of a song's lyrics) are a key ingredient in my art.  I can't imagine creating art without them.  I am particularly partial to using song lyrics because music is my very favourite art form.  Yes, music, not art, although art is a close second.  I could do without many things in my life, but not my music.  There is nothing more valuable to me and I think the greatest gift we can give one another is the gift of music.  It is the universal language.

Sometimes I will have a quote (or lyrics) rolling around in my head that I really want to use in a piece of art and that is the jumping off point when I start creating.  Other times, the art itself starts to come together long before I find a quote to go with it.  Sometimes the art will sit for months, mostly finished, just waiting for the right quote or lyrics to pop into my head.  I never try to force myself to match up a piece of art with the right quote.  I have complete faith that the right one will reveal itself to me at the right time.

When I was a teenager in the late 1970s, and had to do typing practice for school, I would type up song lyrics.  I kept a huge binder of them for years!  Needless to say, many of those lyrics are still rambling around in my brain.   Trust me, you want me on your music trivia team.

Because I no longer play music (as a musician) and focus on creating art instead, I try to meld these two loves as often as I can.   I love to do homage art featuring lyrics from my favourite musicians and bands as a small way to pay tribute to them for all the enjoyment their music has given me over the years.  If I had more time, perhaps when I retire from the workforce, I would like to do a whole series of art with music quotes. 

Anyway, here are a few pieces, some brand new and some quite old, that use some of my favourite quotes. I  hope you enjoy them.

Namaste, my friends
Joanna