When Owen Guarino, 8, comes home from a long day of school and begins to work on his art; ideas start to flow, and he travels to another place.

"It's like I'm walking on clouds or something," he said.

He may only be in the third grade, but Owen's art has taken him to the clouds and rainbows in the sky, the tropics and even the Serengeti. Last weekend, it took him to the Gathering — his teacher's church, for a benefit art show.

Guarino explores his art under the guidance of Brittany Bennett, owner and instructor at Art Expressions.

Bennett has been teaching Guarino for the past three years. Together, they explore worlds of imagination from Bennett's home. They do so while studying artistic guidelines that will remain with Guarino for the rest of his artistic journey — process and perspective, shading and lighting.

With degrees in art and education, Bennett said she focuses on artistic principals as much as she does cultivating the imagination. From toddlers to adults, students can also expect personalized attention. Private classes are conducted in Bennett's home studio.

Formerly a teacher in public schools, Bennett said she made a difficult decision that later turned out for the best, when she decided to leave her special education teaching job to become a mother and begin Art Expressions.

"I gave up teaching, which was so hard for me," she explained. Brittany said teaching kids to read "was the biggest gift," but being a mom is too.

"To do both and have it work — I love it," she said. For Bennett, seeing her students showing their work at the Gathering last Saturday and witnessing their transformations through art are her proudest moments.

Guarino recognizes his teacher's passion.

"She's a good person, a real good person," Guarino said of Bennett.

To connect with his teacher, Guarino suggested the two paint a friendship portrait together, which you can find attached to this article.

"Brittany is just fantastic," said Owen's mom, Heidi Guarino. "We were very lucky to find her."

Working with his teacher, Owen's art has transformed from a hobby to future profession, according to his mom and even his best friend, fellow Carlton third grader Deven Riley-Jalbert.

In fact, Riley-Jalbert already has big plans for his partnership with his best friend.

In addition to opening an amusement park, "Owen and I were talking about him being a cartoonist for the television station I'm going to run," Riley-Jalbert said. "He's an amazing artist" he added. "I'm very happy for him."

For more on Brittany, her private and group classes, check out the Art Expressions website.

An online portfolio of Owen's work can be found here.