My love and passion for making art began as a toddler. During adolescence I drew primarily portraits from images I found in magazines, posters and so on, in pencil, charcoal and ball-point pen. My main influence early on was Rembrandt, and my drawings of that time reflect that dramatic light and earthy ambiance. I began 'serious' painting at age eleven, influenced by impressionists and my own grandfather's plein air landscapes. In high school, my drawing became more exact and detailed–a kind of fantasy surrealism akin to Escher, Dali and Roger...more
