Zavier Oates is a graduate at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) who has a bachelor’s degree in studio art, emphasis on painting. Zavier is 23 years old, born in Oklahoma and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma. Zavier started making art in elementary and working towards the goal of becoming a professional painter at the start of 2017. In between that time, Zavier mainly experimented with watercolor and nature photography. With watercolor Zavier was exploring the duality of beings mimicking animals. Creating a mirror image of a person to complement the colors of what the animal is. Zavier wanted to learn how a person could match the animal’s personality through color and emotion. He spent time in nature and essentially took photos to capture the essence and beauty of nature. Eventually he got enough confidence to enter in a photography competition (Department of Mass Communication’s Annual High School Photography Contest) for the first time. Submitting a black and white photo called “Prickled B&W Leaf” that was primarily a photograph of a single leaf that was high in contrast that had web like holes. Receiving an honorable mention certificate. Currently, Zavier is now evolving into creating work that is based on fantasy and using celestial imagery that goes back to using imagery of nature, beauty, and the use of emotion.