Local fine artist Kevin McEvoy recently spoke to middle school students in the EXCEL program as part of the ongoing “Inventing Self” series of inspirational guest lectures.

After studying at the Charles Cecil Studios painting school in Florence, Italy, McEvoy began a decade-long career teaching classical drawing and painting. The Islip resident serves as director of the Atelier at Flowerfield classical art studio and exhibition space in Saint James. His work has been exhibited widely in New York City and Long Island.

During the EXCEL visit, McEvoy demonstrated live portrait painting for the students and discussed the use of an iPad as a tool to capture inspiration. For McEvoy, art is about personal growth as well as community values.

“I think passion is the thing you can’t not do,” he said. “Each has to find their own. I support things for society to be healthy, for each and every person to find their passion, and then to water and feed it, to cause sun to shine on it. We all as a community can help invest in each other’s lives and cause a hospitable environment to grow.”