One of my favorite quotes about art:
"An artistic work which is merely conceived in the mind, or a poem, which is only dreamed, does not as yet demand toil. It is the material realization of poem in words, or that of artistic conception in statue or canvas, which demands effort. The effort is painful, but it is also precious, still more precious than the piece which it produced, because owing to it one could draw out of himself more than he had, and elevate himself higher above himself."
— Henri Bergson
"An artistic work which is merely conceived in the mind, or a poem, which is only dreamed, does not as yet demand toil. It is the material realization of poem in words, or that of artistic conception in statue or canvas, which demands effort. The effort is painful, but it is also precious, still more precious than the piece which it produced, because owing to it one could draw out of himself more than he had, and elevate himself higher above himself."
— Henri Bergson