Thanks bud, it feels so great when artists I look up to dig my stuff too. :)

With the "remixes," I do feel a responsibility to honor the original artist's work and hope to relay some of the inspiration and admiration (I guess you could say the love) that they've given me. A lot of times when I get into a painting, I'll use it as a learning opportunity — to find out as much interesting stuff and common ground as I can related to the piece. The more connected we feel to the work, the more meaning it has — and magically, people seem to feel that connection, even if they don't understand the specific references at first. I look for the "song" the artist was singing and try to harmonize with that while putting my own spin on things.

Getting people to look at our work is part of every artist's plight, and using established images is one tool for getting people’s attention. That being said, I try to stick to “write what you know,” so I only use images I have an authentic connection to.

Yeah, Louis Wain is special. I came across his red cat years ago while tripping out with some friends and poring through the art gallery on erowid.org. My brain just got emblazoned with his art that night.

It would be many years later that I found out he likely wouldn’t have had access to psychedelics, having lived in the time and place he did — so then it’s like, wow, what was going on with this guy? Really interesting.

I've heard him referred to as one of the “godfathers of visionary art,” and I'm inclined to agree. His work essentially gives us permission — or guidance — to psychedelic-ize things in our art.

On a personal level, I also feel Wain's heartbreaking and inspiring journey — making art a foundational element in his life while going through mental illness and difficult times. Feeling him on that one — it’s so inspiring.

Yeah, art is amazing that way... the more you put into it, the more you get out. Like other spiritual practices — you learn about them and practice, and then one day you really need them, and that’s when you implement all the training you've been doing.

Like, meditating is all well and good — until your mother dies — and then you feel the strength of your practice kick in when you need it.

Art is definitely like that. The more I strive to have nothing between me and the canvas — to throw my heart all the way into it — the more capable I feel when it comes to the hard things life throws at us. It’s really amazing.

Art will never let you down.