Taylor "TJ" Eisenhart's skills on the bike are well known. The Utah native has been racing with USA Cycling's development and national teams since adolescence, most recently plying his game on the US and international circuits with Pro Continental team Holowesko-Citadel.
But there's another, lesser-known aspect of Eisenhart's talent that he's been nurturing for just as long, if not longer, and which is now providing balance to the sometimes hectic, singularly focused life of a professional athlete.
"My mom, she always knew that spark was there," Eisenhart said about the early embers of a painting career that has begun to pick up speed as of late.
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"She always had a sketchbook in my hand since the early stages I can barely remember. I was always in church just sitting there, and she'd hand me a sketchbook just to keep me quiet. Eventually she saw I had talent, and she started signing me up for art classes."
When he's not on the bike in a race or on a training ride, Eisenhart is applying paint to canvas in a studio behind his Utah home, successfully marketing his work and getting commissions for specific projects picked out by the patron. What started as a simple astronaut painting for his nephew's bedroom as a favour for his sister, has turned into a full-fledged living and an outlet that provides balance to his life.
"One of my favourite artists does these astronauts, and I started looking at his style and everything, and I was like, 'OK, that looks similar'," Eisenhart said of his first 'commissioned' work for his family. "So I did a very similar thing and it just exploded. Everyone was like, 'Oh my gosh, that's amazing. I want to buy one.' I'd tell them I was sorry, but that's for my nephew."
Seeking balance in a single-minded world
Finding his muse
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via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tj-eisenhart-finds-balance-in-his-painting-gallery
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