This discussion has been split from a topic called “Why people have dryspells” in General Lucidness. The post this is referencing is Here 
Happy people can not make good art? Please rethink that one.
My first (and only) LD that lasted longer than two seconds happened during a particularly upbeat phase in my life.
Also some people make better art when they’re unhappy (thinking of myself here), but some people can’t work if they’re too unhappy. It depends on the person.
Then again, Tomothy, not too unhappy - not depressed, just not having a perfect life, or not having a statisfying life.
I don’t know anyone who has a perfect life. 
Just adding this in, all the most famous (and best, so to speak) artists in the world, have suffered through poverty and rough lives. Well, most of them.
I read that somewhere…
Then it must be true!
my best writing was done during the hardest phase of my life, it was down hill creatively from there. I think an antidote to suffering is creative expression. Expressing yourself through art is a coping mechanism. It doesn’t have to be though. I have done some pretty creative work during “happy” times, but I was motivated by specific things. Maybe it is that suffering is just a better motivater than happiness is, at least in respect to art.
Maybe happiness expresses itself better than suffering? Suffering requires more than just feeling the negativity. Whatever the reason, and I have just been speculating, depressed, unhappy people generally make better art. Which just made me thing of something else.
It’s very probable that there is just more suffering (no brainer really) and so people can relate to work born from that same pit. A depressed, or simply jaded person will look at a happy piece and get disgusted with the optimism wheras the same person looking at depression will relate to and feel understood and less alone.
I think it’s very likely a combination of all the things I have mentioned and much that I haven’t. I do agree with the sentiment though. I’m sure passion has something to do with it as well 
It had nothing to do with a person being happy , sad, depressed, satisfied, bored, whatever.
The person can be in any state of mind and it is still possible for him to make excellent art and also to make boring, not so great art…
Generally (taking out of the consideration the many many other factors that make up the quality of the final work), the more extreme the state of mind of the creator is, the more interesting his art will be. That goes to any direction, whether its happiness, fulfillment, sadness, pity, self confidence, helplessness, desperation, whatever…
Happy people make great art. Just ask my sister.
Post moved from Why people have dryspells.