It's funny, because halfway through most of these paintings I'm like, "Gavin what are you doing?

Why don't you just paint normally, right?

Why are you going through this?"

But you know, when the painting is complete, and I step back and I'm like, wow, I did that.

You know?

So it's a difficult technique to do.

What keeps me doing it and keeps me going is actually the reaction from viewers, right?

Because, you know, there's 2D, but 3D adds a different dimension to the experience of seeing the piece.

My name is Gavin Jordan.

I am the gallery owner of 24 Marie Fine Art Gallery.

I'm also an artist.

And you know, some of my work is here at the gallery as well.

And you know, Gavin is also an executive, right?

A business executive, a CPA.

So Gavin is many things.

So in 2016, I was doing an assignment in New Jersey, right, for a Jamaican-owned business.

And I was the CFO for that business.

It was a stressful experience.

And I remember I was driving by a Michael's Art Store one Saturday afternoon, and you know, I said to my wife, Tamika, "You know what?

I want to stop at Michael's, and I need to get some pencils, because I want to start sketching again."

When I think about it, I can't really tell you why it happened the way it happened.

You know, I often tell people it's like, you know, when Spider-Man just got bit by that radioactive bug, and then, you know, suddenly he has superpowers.

It kind of felt like that, right?

I was posting my sketches on Facebook and Instagram for a while, and the response was, you know, that was overwhelming, in terms of the reaction to pieces.

That passion that was reignited in 2016, you know, caused me to go through a process of significant exploration, right?

So I started with sketching with pencils, then charcoal, you know, a painting with acrylics, inks, oil paints.

And I eventually started working with mixed media.

I was doing a lot of research.

This is my mechanical brain now.

As soon as I started painting, I wanted to have a style.

I was like, boy, you know, I need my style to, I need something to show that this is me.

It's very humbling, right?

It teaches you about patience, right?

You have to be, you know, vulnerable, and then you have to figure out how you get your authentic voice to come out in your paintings.

So it took me a while to figure that out.

So I started exploring with mixed media, and after that process, I decided to merge that three dimensional element with traditional painting, you know, styles, right?

You know, so more impressionist.

Then you have the mixed media coming in.

So I decided to go the route of screws, you know.

So during my exploration with nails, you know, after, you know, the disaster of hitting my fingers a few times, I said to myself, you know, what is easier to use than actual nails?

So this is the tool of the trade.

So I have my drill, so I paint with a drill at my feet, and I also paint with brushes here, you know, with my oil paints as well.

So given this particular piece that I'm working on, so I will, after going through the process of doing the sketch, and I've worked out how I want this piece to look on screws, then I will look at the sketch and with intuition determine the depth of each screw, the positioning of each screw and so on.

So I will go through this until I'm satisfied, and then what I will typically do, is just rub my hand over the screws to just ensure that what I'm feeling is the indentation of the face, right?

And these are the cheekbones here.

The nose is also here.

There's an indentation here, and so on.

So I will go through that process until I get the perfect, you know, sculpted image on screws.

I'm not connected to a painting emotionally.

It's hard for me to complete a painting, right?

So I can't just paint random objects without any sort of emotional value to it, right?

And what I've found, creating pieces that have that kind of emotional value mixed with the three dimension, you know, unlocks a different experience for my viewers, right?

So I want people to experience what I call the other side of the story, and not focus on the single story.

When I came up with this idea for opening a space, right, one of the issues I had in my creative journey was finding spaces that were open to showing my work.

So when I opened this space, I decided that, you know what, I need to figure out how I also help those other artists to get exposure.

So we decided to set up this space in, you know, the Flagler Village.

You know, there's a lot of history, as it relates to African Americans on Sistrunk.

I mean, it was one of the largest settlements for African Americans in Fort Lauderdale.

We decided that, you know what, this upcoming area would be a great area to have a gallery that's dedicated to the African experience, right?

You know, because our culture is, there's a thread that ties us all together, but our experiences are just so different.

So this guy's walking, having done a day's work, I mean, does he feel fulfilled?

Has he lived a life that he's comfortable with?

And you know, I decided to name this one Old Life.

So it was kind of me asking myself that question as well.

You know, have I done what I wanted to do?

So one of the responses to that question was actually for me to pursue my creative journey.