I started with art as a child in school, like most people, making colorful finger paintings and a huge mess. Not much has changed.

I most respond to Philip Guston’s move from abstraction to figurative work. I know it’s a cliched answer– everyone loves that period– but it’s an honest one. That total shift in gears and excitement about making a completely new and foreign kind of work is palpable.

Everything is positive if you see it that way. I was just telling a friend (wonderful Australian painter Inga Dalrymple) that I am trying to channel all the negativity I feel into a kind of special fuel that powers my own secret weapon……….

Music for inspiration
When I’m painting, I love listening to music that’s smart and funny and kind of irreverent– I get good results with stuff like Pavement, Velvet Underground, PJ Harvey and of course THE POLICE!

What is it about NYC that you like the most?
For me, the best thing about NYC is the PEOPLE who inspire me everyday and make me feel like I can do anything. There are way too many to list here but definitely the wonderful Katarina Hybenova who writes Bushwick Daily, and who can really do anything she puts her mind to– including introducing us! And Debbie Brown who owns Storefront Bushwick– She inspired me to make better work than I thought I was capable of making, and she gave me a beautiful place to showcase it. Who could ask for more than that???