Caplis,  a native of Michigan uses remembrances of his childhood as a source of  inspiration for his paintings. Growing up in rural Michigan, he was  always in or around the woods. There he dreamed of spotting flying  saucers in a patch of sky just above the pine trees, or stumbling upon a  clearing to witness some kind of bucolic supernatural ceremony. He  never did witness such events however, but was always on the lookout for  the extraordinary in nature.

As  his paintings continued, images began to surface that best represented  these more mystical yearnings. Before adolescence He was often sick with  flu and high fevers which invariably let to hallucinations, some of  which were terrifying and quite bizarre. There were times when he would  lash out at them or run around the house in hopes of escaping. His  mother would let him stay in his brother's room during these episodes.  It seemed to make him feel safer.

In  his brother's room, along with all the cool stuff an older brother has,  was a vintage 1940's radio. As he lay in bed in a delusional state, he  would watch the radio rise up or grow and become speaking. It's voice  (he assumed it was God's voice) would announce all kinds of catastrophe  and miracles alike. Sometimes a crackling panicked voice like that of an  on the street reporter and other times a booming great almighty voice  from above, the radio belted out cryptic messages and spectacular  occurrences. It was entirely hypnotic and at the time, he believed to be  the most important discovery of his young life.

Age,  maturity and better health eased the delusions and his education at the  University of Virginia transformed many of these images of the past  into whimsical and playful paintings of landscapes, seascapes and  timeless memorabilia.