Octopus for Matisse Painting

I have always been surrounded by artists, writers, and museums. As a youth growing up in Chicago, my mother and I frequently took the "L" train to the Art Institute of Chicago where I sat and stared at Renoir's "Two Sisters (On the Terrace)". I also saw the collection of Monet's "Haystacks" there. My father owned a traditional dress shop on a historical street in Chicago. I would sometimes copy the printed fashion ads in pencil. Some years later, I created fashion drawings of clothes I designed. As a youth I often used markers to draw graphic designs, primarily patterns. This is why I love Matisse. He came from a textile family, just like my father. The patterns also appeal to my mathematical background. I married an artist, who is also on Saatchi Art. He is the sculptor Steven Lustig. I watched him draw 10,000 drawings in charcoal and various types of pencils, as well as create many marble sculptures. I started painting in watercolors, painted in acrylics for a short time, and then started painting in oils. This became my passion.I still love to create watercolor paintings and draw with graphite. Most of my paintings start as pencil sketches or detailed drawings. I've lived with a master sculptor and draftsman for years and have somehow absorbed that process. We often create artwork together which makes for a highly creative setting. I am influenced by the Bauhaus Masters (Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky), Henri Matisse, Joan Mitchell, Claude Monet, Georgia O'Keefe, and Vincent Van Gogh. As an avid reader of magical realism and fantasy fiction, my paintings often have elements of whimsicality. I am also a writer and published two books of poetry and sonnets. Poets that inspire me are Edna St. Vincent Millay, Shakespeare, W.B. Yeats, Pablo Neruda and E.E. Cummings.