Hi Andreina65, Interesting questions! It would be hard to choose a favorite artist. I keep changing and thinking about different ones, but Caravaggio has had a very strong effect on me. I went throught a period after my trip to Italy, when I was really trying to capture the light and dark the way he did. Now I am being freer with the light I choose, going more for the emotional quality I'm trying to convey. Botticceli, on the other hand, creates such a magical scene in his paintings, while always remaining decorative. I also think a lot about Mucha in my Forces Of Nature series.

As for books I'm reading, I am a chain reader, the way some people are chain smokers. I finished Shadow Of the Wind and read Kavelier & Clay, about the early days of the comic book industry. A great novel! Then I read Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby, Sarah Gruen's Watr For Elephants, ( Great Book!) and am now reading Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. When I was in New York City last week, I bought another Dickens and a New book by Monica Ali, called, In The Kitchen. So you can see, my reading is all over the place. I always love authors who write descriptively and who can create rich characters. Moving the plot along well helps, too. Monica Ali's first book, Brick Lane was fantastic. I also like Jhumpa Lahiri, Paulo Coelho and Martin Cruz Smith.

I would like to say how glad I am to be amongst such avid readers as yourselves. It's a beautiful thing!

Thanks, James