Similar to REVOK, Chuck Close is very deeply connected with my passions and cares for not only art but also my life itself. Chuck Close has taught me to never yield but always drive to pursue. Close’s perfection and dedication in technique of style takes me back to the early years of discovering a liking for Art. At my first touch to a paintbrush, I strived to become a comparable artist as he with an ability to paint a photo to its exactness and being able to put forth my all in every piece of work. Never taking “No” for an answer and always accomplishing any goal that is carried, that’s who Chuck Close is to me. Because I, like Close, feel that quitting is not in my vocabulary, I often spend my days, when working with my paintings, making sure that every last detail is finished until perfection. Another Close theme that has a profound impact on me is his mastery of portraits. Close, who tends to always scale his portraits largely, taught me the importance of space and placement: that a well-drawn face adds to the subject’s humanity and artistic genius of an art piece. To me, this also seems to comment on the attributes of most works of art. He typically begins a piece with a photograph of a face, creating a painting or print through a complex grid-based reconstruction of the image that he accomplishes by hand through one of many techniques that are unique to Close's work. His paintings are even more impressive, given that Close had to relearn how to use his hands following a 1988 spinal infection that left him a quadriplegic. Close suffers from Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, in which he is unable to recognize faces. By painting portraits, he is better able to recognize and remember faces. On the subject, Close has said, "I was not conscious of making a decision to paint portraits because I have difficulty recognizing faces. That occurred to me twenty years after the fact when I looked at why I was still painting portraits why that still had urgency for me. I began to realize that it has sustained me for so long because I have difficulty in recognizing faces.” He has inspired me to capture that fleeting moment of realism and dedication in the world of perfection within my works of art. Similarly, Mr. Close’s work also showed me that colors are equally instrumental in determining the feeling a piece of art projects to its viewer. That said, I am also compelled to evoke the same emotions in my work as Chuck Close to make art harder for himself and force a personal artistic breakthrough by abandoning the paintbrush. It has become the means of exploration in my process to fulfill every media there is to be used in art.

Although my love and respect for the Surrealist illustrator Salvador Dali is recent, it is just as deep as my reverence for both REVOK and Chuck Close. I have also adopted many of Dali’s techniques and adapted them with my own. One of the most important things that I have learned from Dali is Surrealism and the significance of . Like me, the works of Salvador Dali were influenced by his personality, experiences and events along his life. Between 1938 and 1940, Dali changed his style from Surrealism to Classicism, based on religion thoughts, science and history. Dali created a good number of paintings during this period. This indicates a similarity Dali and I share for the expression in different medias in art. Dali’s insane, bold illustrations state that he knows what he’s working outside of the box. In the same way that his lines signify his expertise, the stark contrast of the dull color on white canvas proves his confidence in his field. Even if my illustrations at times fall short in skill, I can at least feign confidence with Dali’s signature style. Details and patterns, also a major facet of Dali’s style, proves the point (to me, at least) that art can be therapeutic. In the same way that Dali holds no structure for what he draws, I diligently try to keep from scale or life-like proportions,