Aldis Hodge partners with Bulleit Frontier Works to pursue his passion

Updated

Aldis Hodge is a man of many talents -- and thanks to Bulleit Frontier Works, we get to see his latest passion project.

While the 31-year-old actor may be known for his prominent roles in "Straight Outta Compton" and "Hidden Figures," the North Carolina native is also a skilled watchmaker. But it wasn't until this year, however, that the star decided to take a leap of faith and professionally pursue his passion for painting. Hodge debuted the first portion of his art series, "Through the Looking Glass," with artist Harmonia Rosales at the L.A. Art Show in January.

RELATED: Take a look inside the Frieze Art Show featuring Aldis Hodge:

In addition to his work with Rosales, Hodge is also an ambassador with Bulleit Frontier Works. He recently partnered with the brand at Frieze New York for the official launch of its national campaign Bulleit Frontier Works: Bottle Impressions. The campaign, which "celebrates the artist in all of us," highlights interesting people and places at the edge of the modern frontier.

"I heard what Bulleit was doing and to me, it was the sort of message that paired up because it took me a long time to step out as artist because I wasn’t as confident in myself until I found somebody to really push me in that way," Hodge explained. "So, to me, what Bulleit is doing is really helping to promote and support the idea and identity of what it means to be an artist. That’s what I thrive on, that’s what I understand so it was a natural partnership and I’m actually quite honored and privileged to even be a part of it."

The actor, who says he really began perfecting the art of painting in his teens, also created a piece for the show. When asked what gave him inspiration for his installation, he recalled his moment of creative clarity.

"I was sitting at a restaurant one day -- I ordered some Bulleit and I took a picture of me holding the Bulleit and I was like 'That’s it. I’m going to paint what my impression of Bulleit and what my experience of Bulleit is.' So I did that. Then I put some of my DNA into it with that you see and how I executed the composition of the painting, some of my usage when it came to different material, burning techniques, things like that."

As far as what's next for Hodge and Bulleit, he says, "With this campaign, the next phase is exposing and supporting other artists and their beautiful talent and seeing what comes out of it with the next leg of this campaign and then from there who knows."

To learn more about Bulleit Frontier Works, and their future projects click here.

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