Willem DeKooning comes to mind if I try to pigeonhole my art. DeKooning’s name comes up often when folks look at my work. But so do photographers Aaron Siskind and Helmut Newton. I draw inspiration from Bob Dylan and the twisted viewpoints of David Lowery (Cracker) as well.

When I was a kid I would study Alberto Vargas' paintings in Playboy. The Vargas Girl paintings had a profound impact on my life. Then as a student of Fashion Photography I was introduced to John French’s work. French’s pop fashion portraits are among the finest and I learned so much from him, especially how he posed his models.

The exploration of the dark side of beauty by Helmut Newton; the looseness of Willem De Kooning's abstract expressionistic art; the upbeat smile of David Lowery as he addresses life's lows; the lovely sensuality in the work of Alberto Vargas; and Aaron Siskind's ability to make art out of almost anything. I have tapped something from the genius of each and perhaps this is somewhere in my work.

When I have a paintbrush (or a guitar for that matter) in my hand and set out to create, I try to go outside of the rules and constraints of history. I am not concerned with doing it the ‘right’ way. Sometimes I do not even know what ‘the right way’ is. I just do what I see. I paint what I like and hopefully I like what I paint. Hopefully you like what I paint too.

When Totaro dips his brush into Pop Art, he explores the everyday imagery which is part of contemporary culture with his own unique perspective. Totaro’s paintings are on display in galleries in America's northeast virtually every day of the year.