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.
Allyson graduated from James Madison University with a BFA in Graphic Design. In her free time, Allyson loves to experience beauty and culture in the world through traveling and photography. She believes painting is a fun way to free thoughts and have fun.
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!
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 small-town West Tennessee girl Julia began her art studies at Murray State University. She graduated as a history major, and art minor. Art has been an overall theme in her life as a sculptor and a photographer. She loved the pace and fun of Painting with a Twist and decided to become an instructor. Her full-time career is as a high school APUSH and government teacher. She has been in the Richmond area a little over eight years and very much enjoys the local art scene. An avid traveler, she has a special interest in bridges.
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.
Maranda was born and raised in small-town Virginia and loves being outdoors spending time with her 4 dogs. She was first introduced to art as a junior in high school when she completed an independent ceramic study. From there, she pursued ceramics academically and professionally for 4 years. After leaving the ceramics world, she found a passion for painting, and has always loved crafts and doing DIY projects at home. Although a people person, she finds nothing better than a cozy day at home watching movies.
Hello my name is Maya! I'm relatively new to the Richmond area so if you have any cool suggestions I'm all ears (the best one gets a prize!). I earned my degree in psychology with a pre-med focus from Georgia Tech. However, for various reasons I determined medical school wasn't the right path for me, but of course I didn't have this realization until after suffering through all the chemistry courses. During my journey of discovering what it was that I wanted to do, I had the opportunity to explore various roles. I worked as an art teacher at a Montessori school, teaching every grade from K-12. Additionally, I served as the manager and painting instructor at a Painting with a Twist studio in Texas. Currently, I'm employed at Michaels's corporate office. All of these experiences have led me to the profound realization that I want to pursue a career as an art therapist. I've enrolled in art classes beginning in May to fulfill my prerequisites so I can get my master's and license. So watch out world, prepare to become therapized!
Rekha graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art and a concentration in photography. She enjoys photographing unexpected scenes and landscapes and keeps her "fancy" camera with her at all times in case a great shot presents itself. She also is the creator and owner/operator of a natural bath company that sells at local establishments and online. Rekha currently lives in Chesterfield and enjoys hiking and being outdoors with her dog, Niko. In her spare time she also enjoys playing guitar and spending time with friends and family.
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.