He started his artistic journey as a young child drawing and illustrating, now he’s flourished into a versatile artist who has developed a passion for painting. He was once a student at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising), but he made the decision to drop out of school to pursue his passion. Many know him as a St. Joseph, Missouri native who always has a brush in hand, but he’s more than a workaholic, and his name is Sage Barnes.

Sage comes from an artistic family. His grandmother is an oil painter, and one day she left behind a few paint brushes in the mix with his drawing materials, so he decided to pick one up and give it a try. Since then, he and his brush have been inseparable. “Even though I haven’t been painting for years and years - I’ve already grown in all aspects of being an artist. My appreciation for art, the way I use art to communicate and really just the way I look at things,” he explained.

In the past few years, Sage has had the opportunity to showcase his artistry in multiple cities across the US, namely Miami, Florida, where he sold all four of his paintings and twenty-five prints at the Art Basel show; moreover, he has also presented his work in London and a few other cities in the UK. The experience enabled him to grow his brand, build meaningful relationships with other artist, and learn new techniques.

Across the Midwest his name has generated an enormous buzz, attracting the attention of well-known athletes and artist such as, Eric Berry, Cam Newton, and G-Eazy just to name a few. What’s most intriguing about this young mogul is how he’s overcome difficult challenges in his life. Throughout his life, Sage has learned to cope with a predisposition to ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) something that early on in his life presented a lot of embarrassment, stress, and resentment toward school. Instead of succumbing to a diagnosis, he uses the disorder as motivation to fuel his creativity and ingenuity.

Sage takes pride in being an artist and was very expressive in his explanation of what being an artist means to him, “Being an artist means a lot to me. It's not only a job to paint, but to make art that helps inspire a generation and influences people to engage in art. I think my generation isn't that interested in art because they just picture old paintings they saw in an art history class. But being a successful artist to me means that your art makes an impact on the viewer.”

Currently, Sage is working with his agent to create his first solo in the UK set for late spring. His plan for the near future is to continue to create awe-inspiring art that symbolizes his life, reality, emotion, and hope. “To me, I have the best job in the world so I'm doing everything I can to make the most of it.”