The most beautiful objects in the world are paintings,
and the most beautiful subjects should be paintings. 
This is why I paint.
Few things give a person more dignity than a well-painted portrait,
and the portrait remains our best chance at defeating death.
This is also why I paint.
People have said that I am good at painting.
Certainly, this is really why I paint.

I believe in the "masterpiece" - that it is not an unattainable dream of the past. Whereas art in the last century has been largely focused on random acts of genius, I consider painting to be a craft - a practice. So, I seek to emulate what has been done before me and practice that which is earnest, sentimental, and epic. I am an apprentice, and I will be for some time.

The techniques and compositions of these painters have become my guide:
Caravaggio, Zurbarán, Rembrandt, Pierre-Narcisse Guerin, Ivan Bilibin, Rene Magritte, and Odd Nerdrum. So, like Jan Ove Tuv says, I look to the old masters
not because they are old, but because they are masters.

The Pre-Raphaelite painters Millais and Rossetti wanted to create a links between their paintings and the golden age of Romantic Poetry, so they took subjects from the work of Keats and Blake. I desire to connect my work with what I believe will be considered the golden age of songwriting.  So I take subjects from the work of Bob Dylan, David Bazan, Yoni Wolf, and Joanna Newsom.
The titles of these paintings are taken from these contemporary master lyricists not because they are contemporary, but because they are masters.