I was recently asked about people who'd influenced my art and my life.  Here's a rough draft of some of my thinking on that subject:

Kurt Vonnegut: new frontier, looking inward.  "So it goes...."

Emily Dickinson: chose to stay home, look inward, express her gift, maintain contact with the giver ....  Seeing New Englandly as result of my being in her bedroom (house tour with my mom) and aware of relating to/seeing what she saw....

Virginia Woolfe: needed a room of her own and plenty of cash so she could stay home and focus on her work without worry about making a living....

Jane Austen: stayed home AND had a career....

Paul Cezanne: was able to work and grow despite family dysfunction & dependence on his family....

Vincent van Gogh: worked despite his crazy

Georgia O’Keefe: had her love,  maintained integrity,  grew in her work, supported self....

Artemesia Gentilischi: expressed profound  rage (personal & universal)  with shocking symbols – in a mannerly way....

Giorgio Morandi: was influenced by the work of Cezanne, simplified subject matter to a few items he used consistently, explored relationship between positive & negative space....

There are more, but these are all important to me, just off the top of my head....