Austin Kleon

You are here: Blog / Notes on writing and drawing / Steal Like An Artist

Comments

  1. I seriously love this. My plan for tomorrow has actually changed to accomodate more creativity and im psyched to see what i can change in my life tomorrow. one thing i would have thrown in though…appreciate every relationship you possibly can a little more than you already do. youll learn a little more about who you are and who you want to be

  2. Everything mentioned is something people already do everyday in one way or another they just don’t stop and notice it. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. This is creative I guess, but obvious.

  3. Expecting this article to be a casually funny remark about life in the 21st century, I really had no clue what immense impact and motivation it would have on me. I’m still recovering from shock&awe, but I really feel my life has changed today, for the better. It has so much relevance for me, after translating it to photography, that I have yet to hear the lecture that rivals it. This is going in my faves for good…
    Thank you so much,
    Andrew

  6. I didn’t even finish reading this blog entry before I started a blog to start collecting life advice, inspiration and creative methodology. Thanks for being the spark and the first post.

    I’ll be looking for more to steal from you (like an artist, of course) and more to share with you.

  11. Brilliant! Thanks for some beautiful truths, elegantly expressed.

    PLEASE make this available as a book – I would definitely buy several copies (one for me, some for friends – it would be a great Christmas present).

  12. Man, what a find. Stumbled across this blog post (and blog for that matter) via a cool photographer I follow on Twitter. This is definitely one of the best posts I’ve ever read on 21-century writing/creativity, etc.

    I agree with so many points; getting up to speed with technology, but also not allowing technology to usurp the tangible joy out of creating, i.e. reading an actual book and the Moleskine journals!

    And to the numerous people who are conflicted in some way because you don’t agree with EVERY point made in this post, that’s a trick! Anybody knows that all these number lists floating around are designed to give the reader a bunch of chances to connect with the content. The same is true with my blog. If I write “10 Ways to Save Your Creative Career” not every reader will agree will all ten tips, because not every reader will need all 10. But by providing 10, I maximize the chance that I’ll help a beginner, an amateur and someone who’s just have those curious thoughts.

    Rant over. And beautiful work here, Austin. Violently beautiful.

  15. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this. I started to get chills as I read it. I am so glad that someone else out there likes to write by hand and feels like computers cramp their writing style. Really, everything in this article I found to be profound, and I like that it was sweet and succinct and practical. I am not so sure that you have not just changed my life.
    I am sharing this as many people as I can. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  17. This article just got me insanely happy and inspired (after having suffered from writer’s block for several months now).
    I seriously consider making a poster from it and putting it on my wall, right next to the desk.

    Thank you. Just THANK YOU! :)

  27. I love your ideas. I wish I had known all these things 40 years ago. And, now I have a renewed energy for my studio. Thanks. For those of you who don’t have enough energy after your day job, I think the key is to have a day job that is relatively stress free – a 9-5 way to make money that doesn’t suck out all your energy. Then, you will have the time and the energy. Living frugally helps with this, then you don’t need a super high paying day job! This man is wise way beyond his years. Listen to him!

  30. Being an artist to me means defining who you are through what you create, not waiting to find out who you are before you start. I wholeheartedly agree with you. Thank you for writing this post.

  31. Going to echo others’ pauses at, “Get a day job.” One thing I noticed about people successful in highly competitive fields was that they couldn’t see themselves as any other way.

    You cross a tightrope without a net differently than when you have the option to fall. Go for it!

Trackbacks

  3. […] the last few weeks, an essay’s been making the rounds called “How to Steal Like an Artist and Nine Other Things Nobody Told Me.” Artist Austin Kleon dispenses some truly great advice, and number 9 is “Be boring. It’s the […]

  12. […] I ran across a tweet that linked a fascinating blog entry by writer and artist Austin Kleon called “How to Steal Like and Artist (and 9 other things nobody told me)”. It was awesome. My particular favorite was point number 9: “Be boring. It’s the only way […]

Recent posts

Follow me elsewhere

This site participates in the Amazon Affiliates program, the proceeds of which keep it free for anyone to read.