“Leonardo da Vinci strongly suggested artists to be inspired, inspired by anything.
And so indeed I am, by books, music, geography, films, political climates and moods, by change…
I am likewise inspired by people of all walks of life, and below I share a partial list.”

—Ritchard Rodriguez

People:

• Gene Colan, comic book artist
• Brion Gysin, Asemic writer/artist
• Brian Wilson, modular music composer
• Marlon Brando, actor and activist
• Jose Saramago, author
• Joan Mitchell, painter
• Lee Krasner, painter
• Manfredo de Souzanetto, contemporary artist
• Willem de Kooning, painter
• Franz Kline, painter
• John Cale, singer/songwriter
• Chico Buarque, singer/songwriter
• Jacques Brel, singer/songwriter
• David Thomas, singer/songwriter
• Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht, theater revolutionists
• Charles Mingus, music composer/musician
• Robert Ashley, new music composer
• Kip Hanrahan, music pioneer, composer/songwriter
• Bela Bartok, music composer
• Sergei Prokofiev, music composer
• Vaslav Nijinsky, dancer and choreographer
• Gilbert L. Stone, artistic mentor
• Vincent van Gogh, painter
• Rembrandt van Rijn, painter
• Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama
• Julian Assange, publisher and activist, founder of WikiLeaks
• Noam Chomsky, cognitive scientist and political commentator
• Lady Borton, Quaker author and journalist
• Alan W. Watts, philosopher, writer and speaker