At an early age…perhaps in my teens, I realized that I had an ability to draw but had a very limited knowledge of art. So I began a form of self-training by studying other artists in the hope of finding out what it meant to be an artist. The more I studied the more I found out that every artist was different. I would write down different quotes by various people as to what an artist was. All seemed to fit yet none was completely satisfying to me. I still didn’t know what the role of an artist was or what my purpose would be until I came across a quote by Bob Dylan which said, “The purpose of art is to inspire. What more can you do for people than inspire them.”  I often would study an artist like Picasso and then do a corresponding painting. I did this oil painting of him some time in the late 70s. It is now lost to the ages…but I still have this picture.