I was blessed with great parents, who encouraged me to develop my ability in art. They were always among my most ardent supporters. Dad, even when facing the end of his life, kept asking me for business cards because he passed them out to hospital staff. My mom has told me numerous times I used to sit in front of a large aquarium we had, starting when I was 3 or 4 years old, and draw the fish for hours (I guess I have some life drawing experience I forgot about!). Also, when I was very young an aunt gave me a book on how to draw animals, both realistic and cartoon. I don't know how many times I drew every picture in that book. I still have the remnants of it - no cover, pretty ragged, yellowed and some pages missing - but boy did I learn a lot from it.