Alex is a VCUarts painting student. She's been painting seriously since she was 10. Alex's passion for painting even led to her becoming a paint maker. She makes everything from watercolor to oil paint. Painting is definitely in her blood, her grandma even studied under Bob Ross! When Alex isn’t working with paint she spends time foraging for wild edible plants or rock climbing.
A recent grad from VCU's School of the Arts, Aleyah earned her BFA in Painting & Printmaking and a minor in Art History. She enjoys looking at surrealism, photography, as well exploring Richmond as sources of inspiration. Though painting is her pride and joy, her other creative interests include makeup, knitting, and embroidery.
Courtney has always been a nature lover and fueled by wanderlust from a young age. Throughout the years, she has expressed her creativity through photography, painting, and sketching. She later went on to VCU where she graduated with a Bachelors in Environmental Science, which has allowed her to travel and experience various landscapes in the many parks she has been employed by. In her spare time, Courtney enjoys hiking, reading, rock climbing, and hanging out with her dog, Olly.
From small-town life in Appalachia to starting a new chapter in the "big city" of Richmond, Eva recently graduated from the interior design department at VCU. Though most of her design work requires creating images digitally, she eagerly looks for any opportunity to create art with her hands! In the rare moments she isn't busy with schoolwork, you can expect to spot Eva thrifting around for old furniture or working on a home improvement project. Most importantly, she is a proud mother of a beautiful tuxedo cat, Tony!
Gabriel, a Richmond based artist from the 757, is an avid creator experienced in a variety of artistic mediums such as charcoal, oil painting, graphic design, printmaking, video editing, etc. Though an artist at heart, he studied Forensic Science at VCU. When he isn’t working his day job as a scientist, he works nights as a bar attendant in Scott’s Addition. On the side, Gabriel enjoys fire spinning, going to concerts, and visiting his family on the weekends.
Gary's first coloring book when he was a kid got him hooked. Geez it was hard staying inside those lines! Then one day he drew his left hand and it looked like his left hand. He took art all through high school. Majored in History at Virginia Tech. No more art classes, but always had a sketch pad or canvas close by. On his own he studied the great masters, Monet, Van Gogh, Bob Ross. He spent the past 8 years instructing at Spirited Art. He worked 31 years at Verizon. He has a wife, Lucy and daughter, Kelly. He is a tennis coach at Collegiate HS and a USTA tennis official. Whether it's a brush stroke or a tennis stroke he has you covered.
A recent graduate from the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech, Kat earned her BFA in Creative Technology with a minor in Cinema. As an aspiring local artist, Kat's current body of work utilizes experimental video, but during her studies, she received training in multiple studio practices, including painting. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her doggo Opi or enjoying a good movie.
Naila was born a creative spirit. As a contract artist/designer, she works first hand with nonprofits and charities that utilize creativity and freedom of expression. She has a B.F.A in Art and a minor in Communication Studies. When she's not painting and drawing she's tattooing, jamming to music, and baking muffins.
Shauna was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and moved to Richmond in 2016. She has a Master's Degree in Accounting, but left that life behind to open Painting with a Twist. Shauna has always been an artist at heart and was ready to make a change and follow her passion for painting and becoming a business owner.