Leon Forde, 17, has always had a passion for drawing. In fact his love for artistic expression was so powerful that, as a young child, it developed into a compulsion which constantly got him in trouble.

"When I was little all I wanted to do was draw," said Leon. "If I had a pencil or a crayon I would draw all over everything. I was always getting in trouble at school for drawing on my desk and at home for drawing on the walls or any other flat surface."

Leon's father, Leon Forde Sr., amazed by his son's talent, but frustrated with his tendency to draw on everything, took his mother's advice to "buy the boy some paint". Armed with new art supplies Leon began to focus his energy on pad and paper rather than walls and desks.

"I began to draw cartoon characters," said Leon. "To tell the truth I would watch cartoons on television like Dragon Ball Z or Pokémon and then draw the characters. I began to get really good and learnt to recreate all of my favourite cartoons."

Although Leon admits he always enjoyed drawing and recognised he had a talent for it, he said never really challenged himself, that it was just a hobby. He credits his middle-school art teacher for acknowledging his natural talent. Leon claims a challenge from his art teacher to draw a detailed portrait of a person's face permanently changed the way he looked at the whole concept of art

"My teacher Tony DeSilva, at Whitney Institute, challenged me to try different forms of art," said Leon. "Through his class I learnt how broad art is and all the different forms there are."

After realising that he had the ability to do a lot more with his talent than sketch cartoons on regular pad and paper he began to experiment with different ways to unleash his creative energy. Through a lot of trial and error Leon said he eventually discovered airbrushing and his been honing his skills ever since. He claims that he is able to airbrush without the use of stencils which, according to Leon, is uncommon.

"It was around age 15 that I picked up airbrushing – I really sucked at first. But I kept trying and trying and slowly got better and better."

Over the past few years Leon has been doing freelance airbrushing and taking commissions for everything from murals to things like custom T-shirts and hats. Recently at the request of the relatives and friends of some recent victims of gang violence he has airbrushed sheets to be hung and used as memorials in the victims' neighbourhoods.

Two years ago he created a similar memorial which was hung at CedarBridge and also displayed in this newspaper after the murder of Rhiana Moore.

On a trip to Jamaica to visit relatives last summer Leon airbrushed his first vehicle. His cousin requested a paint job on the tailgate of his pickup truck and by the time Leon finished the job he said he knew that he had figured out what he wanted to do for a living.

Now, focused and determined, Leon has begun studying for an Associate Degree in Art & Design at the Bermuda College and learning all he can about automobiles.

"I hope to eventually go abroad to become qualified in collision repair as well as custom fabrication and automation," he said. "Once I have all of those things under my belt there will be pretty much nothing I can't do with a car."

He added that he hopes to start his own auto repair and customisation shop one day.

And Leon's latest project demonstrates just how far he has come since he began scribbling on walls. He has recently completed airbrushing a detailed mural on his father's powerboat. The colourful scene, which took him more than three full days to complete, was done entirely freehand and without stencils.

Although still young, Leon said he plans to continue his career in art, constantly pursuing new outlets for his craft and new ways to express himself.

"Drawing and painting to me is like an escape from reality, it is a real stress reliever," he said.

Leon, who lives in Happy Valley, added: "To those young men out there who think that they are stuck on a certain path or can't change – it is never too late. I have made some bad choices in my life too but I found something that I love so I stuck to it and went all out."