Learning how to be a great painter is found through a process of constant evolution. It starts with a perceived talent and a joy of scribbling when we are children. For some, the process is encouraged at an early age and the proper training begins then, but for others, like myself, the training comes later in life when you realize that there is nothing better in the world than facing the challenge of a blank canvas and decide that's where you want your focus to be. That's when the work begins.

My primary medium is oil, using both traditional Shiva Signature Oil paints and Shiva Paintstiks, either seperately or together, to create realist portrait and still life paintings. I am exploring the relationships between color temperature, tonality and light effects so as