Having a routine, knowing what to do, gives me a sense of freedom and keeps me from going crazy. It's calming.

The reason I don't like realist, photorealist, neorealist, or whatever, is that I am as interested in the artificial as I am in the real.

I think the problem with the arts in America is how unimportant it seems to be in our educational system.

What difference does it make whether you're looking at a photograph or looking at a still life in front of you? You still have to look.

Inspiration is for amateurs. professionals work everyday. Personally the best inspiration is a deadline.

In the 7th grade, I made a 20-foot long mural of the Lewis and Clark Trail while we were studying that in history because I knew I wasn't going to be able to spit back the names and the dates and all that stuff on a test.

I think I was driven to paint portraits to commit images of friends and family to memory. I have face blindness, and once a face is flattened out, I can remember it better.