David Macaulay Quotes & Sayings

For some time now, I have been encouraging people to ask themselves why things look the way they do. — David Macaulay

What I remember most clearly is how it felt. I'd just finished painting a red fire engine-like the one I often walked past near my grandparents' house. Suddenly the teachers, whose names I've long forgotten, closed in on my desk. They seemed unusually impressed, and my still dripping fire engine was immediately and ceremoniously pinned up. I don't know what they might have said, but their unexpected attention and having something I'd made given a place of honor on the wall created an overwhelming and totally unfamiliar sense of pride inside me. I loved that feeling, and I wanted to feel it again and again. That desire, I suppose, was the beginning of my career.
I have no idea where my fire engine painting ended up, but I never forgot the basic layout. Several decades later, it served as the inspiration for this sketch for an illustration in a book called Why the chicken crossed the Road. — David Macaulay

Making books is hard work. Some books are, of course, more demanding than others. — David Macaulay

I'm just looking for projects I enjoy. — David Macaulay

I've never thought about the ages of my readers. — David Macaulay

Occasionally, I just need to escape from my work or be reminded of the comparative bliss of my own life, so I pick up a novel. — David Macaulay

I'm a big fan of the digestive system. — David Macaulay

If you are lucky enough to be successful, you get drawn further in and you stop paying attention to the stuff that matters. — David Macaulay

I went back to the notion of story, which is always a good thing to have if you're trying to get people to pay attention to a book and pick up information along the way. — David Macaulay