A lot of my art is a tribute to the things I love, like quirky animals, yummy food, and slender, androgynous boys. If you like any of those things - and especially if you also have a keen sense of the absurd - you'll probably love this store. Other times, art is a kind of therapy for me: an image will come to me like a dream and I'll realize that it symbolizes something that's been bugging me (or, on rare occasions, something that's been making me happy). Once I let the image out onto the canvas, I feel as though a weight has been lifted off me. These pieces are generally sadder and/or more disturbing than what you'll find here, and I'll be putting them in their own store. My work is mostly influenced by two artists. One is Roy Lichtenstein, who messed with people's heads by doing oil paintings of comic book panels (was his art highbrow or lowbrow? NOBODY KNEW!). The other is Frida Kahlo, whose direct, unibrowed gaze in self-portraits seemed to tell the viewer, "This is who I am and I won't apologize for it." With most of my paintings on canvas, I work from photographs; I'm a bit anal retentive about planning my compositions ahead of time. I started doing "mini-paintings" (small paintings on paper) in a desperate bid to break free from my OCD tendencies: all of the "minis" are done completely freehand, without even the tiniest pencil mark to guide my brush. Improvisation still scares me, but not as much as it used to; these days I barely even hyperventilate as the brush approaches the paper. I mean, maybe a little bit. But less than before. Why are the people in my paintings usually punky/gothy/freaky, you ask? Partly because that's what my friends and I look like...and partly because painting people with tattoos and crazy hair gives me an excuse to use more colours. Bright, obnoxious colours make me happy! I have recently quit my day job (after nine years!) in order to devote every waking moment to my art. Will I be be able to carve out a living doing what I love? Or will my savings run out, forcing me to get another job? Time will tell - and I'm chronicling the whole incredible adventure on my blog, www.shesaidpop.blogspot.com, if you want to come along for the ride.