I come from a family of creative people, but much of what gave me the confidence to explore my own creativity came from my uncle. He is an artist, collector, and longtime commissioner of painters from around the world, especially Iran, where my family is originally from. As a child, I remember visiting his home and being mesmerized by walls filled with paintings. That environment was one of my earliest introductions to art.

Years later, as my uncle approached retirement, he invited me to help organize and document the collection he had spent a lifetime building. His home held more than 700 paintings, ranging from small 5 x 5 inch works to pieces nearly 20 feet long, but there was no formal archive, catalog, or digital system in place.

Over three weeks, I photographed, cataloged, and organized the entire collection. Each painting was documented with professional lighting, high-resolution photography, color accuracy tools, and a simple ID system. Afterward, I individually edited each image, correcting color, reducing glare, and preparing digital files that could be used both for archival purposes and for presenting the work to potential buyers.

I then built a database with key metadata for each painting and created a website where serious collectors could explore the collection digitally. The project became a full-scale archival and presentation system, combining photography, documentation, organization, image editing, and web design to help preserve and share a deeply personal collection of art.