Who has influenced my art

Artistically, I am inspired by a broad range of artists, cartoonists, and writers.

Alexander Calder:
I love the whimsy and technical brilliance of Alexander Calder’s wire sculptures. And there’s that story of how Calder showed up for a solo exhibit with no art. When asked where his art was, Calder pulled out a spool of wire and pliers, and proceeded to create the entire exhibit from scratch.

Charles Schulz (cartoonist):
Charles Schulz had the ability to create emotion, depth, and resonance with a few simple strokes of his pen. He may be “just a cartoonist”, but more than any fine artist, his stories have had a deep and personal impact on my life.

Marcel Duchamp:
Ah, the wit and insanity of Marcel Duchamp! That was a guy who knew how to have fun with art. Art can be so pretentious, and his work never fails to make me laugh and remember the sensory pleasure that art should always be.

Georgia O’Keeffe:
The first time I had seen Georgia O’Keeffe’s lesser-known abstract work, I was blown away. Without directly realizing it, I have absorbed most of my knowledge of color, shape, and form from her.

Haruki Murakami (novelist):
Haruki Murakami has the ability to create entire worlds that are breathtaking in their originality, yet still feel intimately familiar. His realities are deceptively simple, elegant creations, with massive geologic flaws running straight through them.

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (photographers):
I was simply blown away when I first saw their work at the Eastman House. They showed me what a photograph could achieve in the telling of a story or capturing of a mood.

Ted Orland (photographers):
I had the pleasure of being in the same galley as Ted for a short time. I love the simple expression of mood and place he expresses in his work. And his books on life as an artist (such as “Art and Fear”) are clear, honest, and inspirational.

John Chervinsky (photographer):
A witty combination of science and art. One of the few photographers who makes me think “I wish I had done that!”

Other posts you might be interested in:

• Make a living from making art
• Take a number
• Getting past the overly-familiar
• Me and Georgia O'Keeffe
• learn the craft of selling your art