Chad Morisato

I've been chasing realism since I lost a drawing contest to my dad when I was about eight years old.

I've spent most of my life figuring out how to make paint look like something more than paint.

That journey has taken me from airbrushing T-shirts in Waikiki to painting motorcycles, cars, surfboards, helmets and eventually fine art.

I'm drawn to dramatic light, deep shadows and those brief moments that make you look twice—a samurai alone with his thoughts, sunlight catching the side of a tuna underwater, or an expression on someone's face that makes you wonder what they're thinking.

Those are the moments I want to paint.

— Chad