Justin Balleza was born and grew up in Houston, TX. He acquired a BFA in Studio Art at The University of Texas at Austin in 2009, then later continued his studies at the atelier Charles Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy where he was an instructor and studio assistant for over three years. Rooted in classical ideas of observation and technique the studios in Tuscany provided a space to live and work in the birthplace of the renaissance. For over three years he was an instructor and studio assistant in Florence using the Sight-size method of portraiture and now is training full time academy students at Atelier Dojo in Austin.