Fifth graders from Rosenwald-Dunbar Elementary took a field trip on Monday to hear a talk from Commonwealth Attorney Andy Sims. However, the topic was not law, it was art.

Several colorful paintings on canvas and skateboards lined the walls of the Polvino Family Art Center for many curious eyes to gaze upon. Images ranging from crying comic book women with pink hair to heartbreaking love scenes depicted Sims’s exhibit theme of “Heartbreak and Half Pipes.”

Sims said he has enjoyed drawing since he was a kid. Three years ago, he decided to give painting a try.

After long hours on the job, and mentally taxing cases, Sims said he was looking for a hobby to help him de-stress.

“I just needed something to keep me occupied outside of work,” he said. “It’s a good outlet for that kind of stress.”

Sims’s paintings mirror the pop art movement from the 60s, and he also dabbles in comic book art.

He said he begins by sketching out an image. Then, he goes over it with a black paint marker before painting in between the lines.

“It makes the image pop, and it makes it look really good,” Sims said to the visiting RDES students.

About a year ago, Sims’s artwork wondered off the canvas and onto skateboards and oars.

“I just wanted to mix it up a little bit,” Sims said. “I was getting bored with painting on canvas.”

Sims enjoyed skateboarding when he was younger, so he knew his way around the wooden medium.

He said he sands down the skateboards before turning them into pieces of colorful artwork.

Though Sims has created hundreds of paintings, he has only sold two. He said he prefers to give them as gifts to friends and family.

Sims’s artwork has been on display at the Polvino Family Art Center, located at 109 S. Main Street in downtown Nicholasville, for the entire month of March.