At a young age, I had a strong desire to express myself creatively through several mediums, including writing, drawing, and culinary experimentation.

Everyone who has ever tried to create something original knows, however, that inspiration isn’t always easy to come by.

For this reason, I find that quotes about creativity provide me with a welcome shot of inspiration whenever I need it. Something about the words of great writers, philosophers, and visionaries has the power to rekindle the flame and set the imagination free once more.

For this article, I combed the web for some of my favorite quotes about creativity in the hopes that they could spark some sort of creative spark in you.

I hope these quotations will provide you with the inspiration you need to unleash your own creative potential, whether you’re an artist, writer, or someone who simply wants to inject more creativity into their daily lives.

37 Inspiring Creativity Quotes

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

“Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.” – John Cleese

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw

“Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.” – Stella Adler

“Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.” – James Russell Lowell

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” – William James

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela

“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” – William Plomer

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” – Mary Lou Cook

“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” – Osho

“Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.” – Pablo Picasso

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” – Theodore Levitt

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” – Pablo Picasso

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams

“The painter has the universe in his mind and hands.” – Leonardo da Vinci

“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” – Pablo Casals

“Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.” – Osho

“The world is but a canvas to our imagination.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” – Erich Fromm

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.” – Carl Jung

“Creativity is the ability to see possibilities where others only see problems.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“I want to create a world where everyone has the courage to be vulnerable, and share their ideas, stories, and creativity with each other.” – Brene Brown

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” – Pablo Picasso

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce

“Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.” – John W. Gardner

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath

“The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.” – Alberto Giacometti

“Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learned. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and, where appropriate, profits.” – Edward de Bono

“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London

“The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.” – Pablo Picasso

“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” – Osho

Do You Have Other Creativity Quotes to Add?

We are always open to including other creativity quotes we may have missed as there are so many creative workers out there.

Or perhaps, you are a creative artist with some great creativity quotes you came up with yourself. Either way, know that we all have the potential to be creative people and imagination can be the most important human resource.