Credit the artists you learned from. Being influenced is normal. Hiding it is the weird part.

Influence is universal and completely unremarkable. Everybody learned from somebody, and naming them costs you nothing while making your work look more considered rather than less original, because you clearly know where you stand. Concealment is what reads oddly, since it suggests you think influence is shameful. Saying it out loud also sends people towards work you love.

Name the two or three people your current work comes from, in a caption or when somebody asks. Be specific about what you took. Notice how much easier the work is to talk about afterwards.