Throughout my life, cigars have played different roles for me. They fit easily and well in the various stages and experiences Ive had -- like a companion, almost. If youve smoked a long time, as I have, they become part of you.

Ive zeroed in on what you would call action and excellence... Everybody who does anything to try to succeed has to give the best of themselves, and art has made me pull the best out of myself.

But 'Playboy' was liberating. I was drawn to it and went for it full throttle.

I've met and sketched most of the great athletes from the past five decades and their movement, grace and energy have kept me captivated over the years. That's what the ancient Greeks first saw and that's what caught my interest.

It has been difficult to hold onto many paintings but I have retained a few. Possibly the current favorite is titled 'Big Band' completed in 2005. It measures 13 feet x 9 feet. It has 18 nearly life size recognizable portraits of the biggest jazz stars that I knew and saw perform in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, '80s and includes Wynton Marsalis.

I draw all the time. Drawing is my backbone. I don't think a painter has to be able to draw, I just think that if you draw, you better draw well.

I always stayed in tune with my own ambitions and attitudes and I'm still my intractable old self, for better or worse.