My parents never prevented me from doing anything, but they didn't have the knowledge of the arts that Mrs. Ranger had.

Even today, the bigger the city, the better. That's why I live in New York.

I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled in the arts. So that recognition I credit for my growing interest in art that continued to evolve later on.

Charles Burchfield was exceptional. As such an accomplished artist, he had limited previous association with academia and teaching.

I was engaged in all the required courses of math and geometry, but the area that I blossomed in was the art program.

I was always kind of naïve, and really needed to be given some direction.

At home, the radio was a big source and the classic radio programs we would listen to like Amos and Andy and whatever other ones there were.