>> I JUST LOVE LOOKING AT PEOPLE AND I LOVE LOOKING AT PORTRAITS AND JUST DIFFERENT STORIES AND JUST CREATING SOMETHING TIMELESS THAT WILL BE THERE FOREVER BECAUSE WHEN I CREATE A PORTRAIT I'M ALWAYS THINKING OF LONGEVITY AND HOW IT WILL LAST MANY YEARS.

IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL AND CONNECTING TO LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE AND COMFORTING AND AS YOU LOOK INTO THEIR EYES YOU'RE ALWAYS WONDERING LIKE WHAT THEY'RE THINKING, WHAT THEIR STORY IS.

SO I'M TRYING TO CREATE AN ILLUSION OF PAINTING FROM LIFE, IT GOES BACK TO HOW WE VISUALLY SEE YOU FOCALLY LOOK AT ME THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK AT IS MY EYES.

IT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO CREATE, LIKE A CONVERSATION, MY PAINTING, WHERE I'M LOOKING INTO YOUR EYES AND EYES ARE TO ME LIKE THE MOST, YOU KNOW-- THE MOST TELLING OF THE PERSON.

IT'S JUST VISUALLY HOW OUR EYES WORK AND SO LITERALLY I'M PAINTING WHAT I SEE.

[ MUSIC ] >> I ALWAYS MYSELF THINK OF HOW DO I BEST DESCRIBE WHAT I DO.

FIGURATIVE REALISM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT, TO ME IT'S A CLASSICAL APPROACH TO RENDERING THE HUMAN FIGURE.

I'M ALSO A MATH MAJOR, SO I GRADUATE OHIO STATE AS AN ACTUARY, BUT REALLY HOW MATH FACTORS INTO FOR ME CLASSICAL REALISM IS THAT THERE'S A TRUE CRAFTSMANSHIP APPROACH AND STAGES, SO LIKE THE WAY I PAINT, IT'S VERY ENGINEERED AND THOUGHTFUL, JUST IN A WAY THAT YOU WOULD APPROACH LIKE MATH, PER SE.

I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH MODELS FOR MANY YEARS NOW.

THERE'S TWO AVENUES, ONE IS I HAVE A CLIENT COMING IN FOR A COMMISSION.

I TRY AND GET THEM TO SIT FOR ME FIRST SO I CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM SO THEY'RE INEXPERIENCED ABOUT POSING.

I LOVE TO HAVE LIKE THE REFERENCE LIGHTING WHERE THERE IS A NICE BALANCE OF SHADOWS AND LIGHT ON THE FACE BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU THAT BEAUTIFUL 3-D FEEL IN A PAINTING AND THEN THEY WILL SIT ON A CHAIR FOR ME AND MAYBE WE'LL TALK ABOUT LIFE OR HOW THEIR DAY IS OR WHATNOT FOR A LITTLE BIT, AS WE'RE TALKING I'M REALLY TRACKING THEIR POSE AND JUST, YOU KNOW, SEEING WHICH ANGLE WILL TELL THE BEST STORY FOR THAT SPECIFIC COMMISSION, BECAUSE I HAVE COMMISSIONS THAT ARE LIKE A GOVERNOR'S POSITION, YOU WANT LIKE A POWER POSE, OR MAYBE A CHILD AND YOU JUST WANT SOMETHING CUTE AND INNOCENT AND PRECIOUS.

THAT'S THE ONE.

YOU KNOW, THE SECOND ONE IS A MODEL COMES IN SO YOU GUYS MET EITHER TODAY, EVA, THAT'S THE MODEL I'M WORKING WITH FOR THE LONG POSE NOW.

ONCE SHE COMES IN I NEED TO DECIDE HOW LONG IS THE POSE GOING TO BE, AND IF IT'S A LONG POSE OF 15 HOURS THEN IT NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN HOLD FOR THOSE HOURS.

IT GOES BACK TO WHAT THE MODEL CAN HOLD.

WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PAINTING IN A MUSEUM, THERE'S SOMETHING SO VERY DIFFERENT THAN LOOKING AT A PAINTING THAT WAS DONE FROM A PHOTO AND ESSENTIALLY THAT IS BECAUSE BACK IN THE DAY THEY WOULD SIT FOR THE MODEL FOR 20 HOURS, 50 HOURS, AND, YOU KNOW, JUST HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AND PAINT THEM AS THEY GO AND THE MODEL WOULD COME IN ONE DAY, MAYBE HAPPY OR SAD, AND YOU CAN ALWAYS SEE THESE FEELINGS, YOU KNOW?

A PERSON NEVER LOOKS THE SAME THE NEXT SECOND AND YOU CAN KIND OF LIKE CHOOSE WHICH ELEMENTS YOU WANT TO PUT IN THE PAINTING, THAT REPRESENTS THEM BEST, AND WHICH ONE YOU WANT TO LEAVE OUT.

SO WORKING WITH A LIVE MODEL TAKES OUT THE ELEMENT OF YOU BEING IN FRONT OF A PERSON, HAVING A CAMERA ON TOP OF THEM, BECAUSE AS SOON AS THERE'S A CAMERA THAT COMES OUT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE NOT THEM IN THE BEGINNING, THEY PLAY AS IF THEY WANT TO BE SOMEONE, ESPECIALLY NOW WITH ALL THE HYPE, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND IT JUST MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO CAPTURE SOMEONE WITH A VERY LIKE A TRUE ESSENCE OF WHO THEY ARE, IF YOU ARE NOT WORKING WITH THEM FROM LIFE.

I ACTUALLY JUST STARTED TEACHING FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, PASSING DOWN THIS METHODOLOGY IS TRULY MY DREAM.

I THINK AS I'VE MOVED HERE WHAT GOES THE BEST IS PAINT AND SIP.

I DO HAVE QUITE A FEW PRIVATE STUDENTS THAT I TEACH, SO I DO ONE ON ONES AND THAT'S GREAT, AND I JUST NOW LIKE GOT MY STUDIO AND SO I'VE BEEN ABLE TO TEACH A FEW WORKSHOPS, BUT MY FUTURE GOAL IS TO JUST LIKE CONTINUE WITH THE TRADITION AND SHARING IT IN COLUMBUS, OHIO.

WHEN I WAS MAYBE LIKE A TEENAGER OR IN HIGH SCHOOL, I ALWAYS HAD THE LOVE FOR ART, BUT I DIDN'T HAVE THAT GUIDANCE, AND WHEN I COMPLETED MY EDUCATION IN HIGH SCHOOL, I STILL HAD THE DREAM OF BECOMING AN ARTIST, BUT I WENT TO ALL THESE ART SCHOOLS AND I SAW THEIR METHODOLOGY, BUT I COULDN'T SPECIFICALLY FIND A PROGRAM WHERE THEY TEACH YOU METHODOLOGY ON HOW TO PAINT LIKE CLASSICAL PORTRAITS, IT WAS JUST NOT VERY COMMON.

SO ATELIER PROGRAM, WHICH IS PART OF WHAT I WAS, IS ACTUALLY LIKE A NEW WAVE COMING BACK AND I JUST WOULD LOVE TO GIVE BACK TO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO I KNOW REALLY, REALLY WANT TO PAINT CLASSICAL PORTRAITS.

[ MUSIC ] >> HONESTLY, A LOT OF TIMES THERE IS NOT PASSION ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS, THERE IS JUST VERY HARD WORK WITH A BIG GOAL IN MIND AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND A LOT OF TIME WHEN I'M WORKING ON MY PIECES I HATE THEM OR I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO SEE THEM OR I THINK TO MYSELF WHY AM I DOING THIS, BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU LOCK YOURSELF IN THE STUDIO FROM MORNING TO NIGHT, YOU'RE BY YOURSELF THERE AND IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE YOUR HEAD GOES INTO MANY SPACES, BUT ONCE YOU'VE COMPLETED THE PIECE AND HOPEFULLY YOU DECIDE TO PUT IT OUT THERE AND OTHER PEOPLE RESONATE WITH YOUR PIECE AND THEY SAY, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I TOTALLY FEEL YOUR STORY, I TOTALLY FEEL THE ENERGY, THE VIBE, THE MOOD OF IT, YOU KNOW, IT REMINDS ME OF SOMEONE SPECIAL, SO I THINK THESE LITTLE ELEMENTS ARE INSPIRATIONAL AND BEAUTIFUL TO ME.

WHAT I'M TRYING TO SHOW WITH MY WORK AND I ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, TO CAPTURE THOSE BEAUTIFUL TIMELESS MOMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, NOTHING IS EVER FOREVER AND THIS MOMENT THAT I'M SHARING WITH YOU GUYS, LIKE THAT I'M SHARING RIGHT NOW, IT'S JUST THIS INSTANT AND WILL NEVER BE BACK HERE AGAIN AND JUST LIKE CHERISH LIFE.

LIFE IS SO PRECIOUS AND IT GOES BY SO FAST.

IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN TAKE AWAY, AS I KNOW WE ALL HAVE OUR COMMITMENTS IN LIFE AND, YOU KNOW, HARDSHIPS THAT WE FACE, BUT YOU BETTER LIVE EACH DAY, YOU KNOW, BEING THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE AND IF YOU ARE NOT, LIKE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO ENJOY LIFE.

LIKE FOR ME I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AN ARTIST AND I COULDN'T AFFORD OR BE ABLE TO DO THAT FROM THE GET-GO, BUT I HAD A GOAL TO ACHIEVE IT AND HERE I AM DOING IT AND LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT.

THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHAT I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE ELSE IS TO LIKE PURSUE THEIR CREATIVITY WITH, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY HAVE.

[ MUSIC ]