“What kind of art do you do?” people ask. “Oil on canvas” is my usual reply. “Yes, but what’s your specialty?” I would say I don’t favor any one thing, but I'm good with people.

What I’m seeking in my work is a certain style, which is reflected through a variety of subjects, from figurative to landscape, with a hint of surrealism. “Dreamlike” is how some describe my images. I love both realism and abstract painting; I find them equally beautiful. I like to combine the best of these two worlds when I paint. One part of a painting might be representational, while another part is pure abstract color.

The artists who influence me change depending on what direction I’m heading at the moment but here are some in no particular order: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Diego Velasquez, Sandro Botticelli, Albrecht Durer, Artemisia Gentileschi, Michelangelo, Diego Rivera, Frieda Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe, Marc Chagall, Maxfield Parrish, Mark Rothko, Paul Gauguin, Gustav Klimt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Vincent Van Gogh, Rene Magritte, Norman Rockwell, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John William Waterhouse, Francisco Goya, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Chris Van Allsburg, Gary Kelly, Tamara de Lempicka, Maurice Sendak, Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth, NC Wyeth, James Whistler, and Johannes Vermeer.

So much for the known artists. There are many more unknown artists of great talent, whose names aren’t as recognizable to the general public but who nevertheless inspire me both consciously and unconsciously.

I am also influenced by cinematographers, who are painters with film as their medium.

Ann Elizabeth Scott