When Paul first approached Ao5 Gallery, he flat-out said to the gallery director, Todd, “No one does what I do and you must see my art in person!” Thinking he had seen and heard it all, Todd laughed it off. A few weeks later when Paul brought his pieces into the gallery, Todd could see the ingenuity in the ability to stretch canvas and other materials over warped wood to create seamless, eye-bending, illusioned paintings. He was taken aback. No one did what Paul did and Todd was hooked. Ao5 Gallery featured Paul for at least 4 shows and his fan base grew. Even though Paul knew he was doing something special, he had so much self-doubt as artists often have. As time past, Ao5 Gallery and Todd became his biggest fans. Todd commented, “I’d show up at his studio and try to keep a straight face. Every time I turned a corner in the studio there would be an audible gasp from me as I saw for the first time another amazing creation. It was so hard to believe the paintings could be done with such precision by one human alone. And then he would show me something that I just didn’t notice the first time . . . and again I’d be blown away.” Todd eventually purchased for himself one of Paul’s simple, yet very complicated pieces and hung it in his Austin apartment. The piece with its title, “Froot Flavors”, gives a telltale sign of the colors that can be seen in this piece, while the precisely blurred lines give it a weird twist that brings joy and surprise to the viewer. Paul will be greatly missed and our Ao5 community will miss the genius mind that could see around corners and bend straight lines. Each time Paul brought a new series of his work to the gallery, he had come up with something so new, so exciting, so brilliant that he couldn’t keep it to himself anymore. A truly unique individual that created one of a kind masterpieces.