Home                                         Art                                             Writing
I feel I should list the people I admire.   People who, to a point, have shaped my perspective (to some small degree, you understand, one must keep their individuality or all their work becomes derivative of someone else's and that's displeasing to almost everyone [especially the parties directly involved]).   So here goes... 
Artists... Roger Dean, H.R. Giger and Michael Whelan are definitely the top three, and in that order.  Thanks to Roger Dean (and H.R. Giger [in the case of ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery"]) I feel that every time I buy a Yes or an Asia album I'm not only buying my favorite music, but my favorite artwork as well.       
Authors... Stephen King, Clive Barker, William S. Burroughs, Paul Zindel and Frank Peretti (I hope I spelled all their names correctly).  I'm sure there's more in both categories but I can't think of them all off the top of my head.  My favorite book of all time is, without a doubt, "The Talisman" by Stephen King and Peter Straub.  I've read it at least eight times and I highly recommend it.  Of course everything by William S. Burroughs ranges deeply into the bizarre.  I was most enthralled by his writing while I was in high school because I had so much pent up hostility then and his stories contained so much sick violence.  
On a Sidenote...   I realize how pompous I sound here with all the 50 cent words I've tossed in.   You don't have to tell me.