Drawing, dreaming, experimenting and duplicating was how I began.  I would buy cheap comics from used book stores and copy the images of sexy vampire concubines and muscle bound Conan the barbarian.  By the time I was in High School I had accumulated several sketchbooks, numerous colorful art books and realised that painting, drawing and all things visually appealing were now solidly a part of my being.   Inspiration is all around; in faces, in light, in nature, in the mechanical and everyday objects.   Painting helps me to remember places I 've been, experiences I've had, it records feelings and thoughts.  I cannot imagine my life without the great artists before me, my contemporaries that encourage me and the ever evolving world that challenges my mind and ideas.