I toyed with making portraits based on people's discarded shopping lists found on the street, or old diaries bought on eBay, or other forms of borrowed stories. When I stumbled across the Missed Connections listings, I knew immediately I'd found it.

There's arrogance for you. I think all artists insert themselves into their subject matter.

But mostly I think two people do share a moment, and we all know that feeling, and it can put a spring in your step for the rest of the day.

Many messages are just thanking a stranger for a kindness...I love those ones, because I imagine everyone else reading them feels encouraged by such examples of humanity and generosity and tenderness. And if they encourage us to reach out to strangers more often, that's a good thing.

Odd things happen in New York, which is why it's such a great source of stories.

I look for ambiguous messages to illustrate...I like some detail but not too much detail.

Some people have recognized their friends in my paintings, but I'm not directly responsible for any hooking up as far as I know!