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Art has been a part of Laurence Cheatham’s life since he was 3 years old, when his mother sat him down on her lap and taught him how to draw shapes. He is a New York City-based artist and although it may look like it, he has never had formal art training. For him, painting and drawing is therapeutic release from the grips of reality.

“Creating art for me is almost like running away without leaving home,” Cheatham said. “It’s very therapeutic.”

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Been a little over a month since I've created. Back to what I love. I believe this next one will be it. I'm excited! \"No Filter\"! #art #create #sketch #sketching #newdrawing #nofilter #artist #jackskelington #nike #draw #selftaught #artist #pencildrawing

A post shared by Laurence Cheatham (@thisissketch) on Feb 13, 2014 at 7:37am PST

Cheatham instilled that love of art in his 9-year-old daughter as well. One day she approached him about wanting to draw the Mona Lisa, but expressed fear that it would be too challenging for her.

It was then he decided that he wanted to teach his daughter an important life lesson in the best way he knew how – through his paintbrush.

Unbeknownst to his daughter, Cheatham began working on a portrait of the Mona Lisa with his daughter as the subject. He not only wanted to gift his daughter with a portrait, but also wanted to give her an important life lesson.

“I wanted to show her that with time, patience and practice that she can do anything she sets her mind to,” Cheatham said. “I wanted to tell her when I finished, ‘If daddy can do it then you can too, because you’re even greater than me.’”

Cheatham worked on the portrait for more than 400 hours over the course of three months. He painted it at night after he worked a full-time security job, and had to cover it up and hide it in a closet to keep it a secret from his daughter.

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Done painting 🎨 Now let’s get behind this concept. So the little girl in the paintings in my last post is my daughter. She’s 9 years old and in recent years she expressed an interest in creating art. Her favorite things to draw includes portraits ( go figure 😆 ). A few months ago she mentioned how she wanted to draw Mona Lisa and she expressed how nervous she was because of the detail it involves, but I encouraged her to try it anyway. Shortly after that conversation I began brainstorming unbeknownst to her, and this is what I came up with as a surprise. Little does she know this is just one of many 👀. I’ve spent over 400 hours of painting this canvas over the last few months. Feels good to be back. #art #paintings #blackgirlmagic #monalisa #artist #painting #artwork #instaart #arts_help #artoftheday #artoftheday #art_spotlight #paint #create #artlife #artcollective #instaart #paintingoftheday @dope_black_art

A post shared by Laurence Cheatham (@thisissketch) on Feb 27, 2019 at 1:40pm PST

After months of hard work, the portrait was ready to be revealed. Cheatham described his daughter’s reaction with one word.

“Priceless,” he said. “Her reaction meant everything to me. To spend so much time on something for someone you love and get such a genuine reaction. It was exactly what I was looking for. Indescribable.”

Cheatham says her sincere surprise was amazing, but there was another reason her reaction was so special to him as a father.

“She got the message I was trying to send her in that moment,” Cheatham said.

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I am speechless. All I can say is I am incredibly grateful and humbled by all of this 🙏🏽🙏🏽. This is only the beginning 🏆 #art

A post shared by Laurence Cheatham (@thisissketch) on Mar 26, 2019 at 4:33pm PDT

For his daughter’s future both in art and in life, Cheatham hopes this portrait lesson will stay with her.

“I tell her if you’re passionate about something and it keeps you awake at night that you should always pursue it,” Cheatham said. “Be diligent, hardworking and never lose sight of why you started.”

Cheatham might want to clear some wall space, we have a feeling there may be another beautiful Mona Lisa drawing next to his very soon.

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