As a commercial illustrator, I created art for the Carolina Hurricanes, wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage, Orioles Hall of Fame player Eddie Murray, and the Durham Bulls. Eventually, I would turn to oil painting and my desire to show the world a humorous side as a narrative storyteller and observer of pop culture. My influences are first and foremost films, stretching from the early Silents of the 1920's to Exploitation films of the 1970's. The images of film directors such as Fritz Lang, Jean Luc-Godard, Akira Kurosawa, and Stanley Kubrick provide inspiration for my paintings. Comic books, particularly work by Gene Colan, Alex Ross and Lee Bermejo are favorites. Artists I most admire are Frank Frazetta, Skip Liepke, Edward Hopper, Gregory Manchess, James Bama, HJ Ward and Kent Williams.