"When I was in the 1st grade, our school held an art contest. I think I participated too, but didn't win anything. Paintings were hung everywhere in the hallway. I remember walking up to the largest ones (they were probably a full A2 size), and one painting impressed me forever: a winter forest in shades of pink and blue, realistic gouache, with dappled deer. In that moment, it dawned on me, and I knew my calling was to be an artist."