I get my inspiration from my materials and the desire to create a more interesting world. The concept of anthro-morphism (adding human characteristics to inanimate objects and other animals) and surrealism has caused me to justify my need to make the un-realistic, "Acceptable"
The crayons I use in my oil pastel drawings are the best, Holbien, Neocolor II, and Windsor Newton. The rich colors inspire me to find light in each object I create. Much of what I do with images is very much like the coloring I did in coloring books when I was three. (only now I don't cry when my crayon breaks...well...sometimes I do. . .they're expensive!!!) My airbrush paintings take weeks but there is usually a strong inspiration in the piece guiding me on when I tire. The sculpture helps me see in the third dimension. When you've worked on paper and canvas for so long, an artist's 2-d work tends to become "flat" in appearance. (Teaching linear perspective for so many years helped me snap out of this rut.)
Modrian is one of my artist mentors from history. He believed that every object in life can be reduced to a line or a square, masculine and feminine. (People and buildings are simple lines or squares when you get rid of the details.) His philosophy was quite Taoist in nature and Taoism is another inspiration in my work.
