Influence, inspiration and aspiration - the famous artists I study and admire

I created a Pinterest board of all the well known artists who inspire me. When I study these, my worries and tightness drop away and I feel ready to strike out on the page, knowing things will fall into place.

Alexander Calder

An article in the Art Newspaper described the 1992 exhibition of Calder at the Royal Academy in London UK as being small! It had a massive impact on me and I remember it being huge! I found his work so playful, joyful and elegant. I was moved emotionally to the point of crying. Well I shed a tear or two of sheer joy and thrill at the bold colours and delightful puppet show made of wire. Beautiful and wonderful.

Jean Cocteau

So lyrical. The commitment to the line is something I practice and aspire to. When you can look, and draw without corrections, magic happens. The drawing lives, as the person lives. As the moment!

I lived in central London for many years and at one time, an elderly lady lived above me who was part of Cocteau's crowd in the 1930s. She was an actress and a very vivid character. She owned one of his drawings and it was in her flat!

Hashiguchi Goyo

David Hockney

Toulouse Lautrec

Julian Opie

Pablo Picasso

Henri Matisse

Egon Schiele