OXFORD – Recently in Oxford at their annual kick-off wrestling tournament – The Clyde Cole – a local wrestling star and nationally renowned artist stopped in for a visit back home.

“Not everyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere,” said Ryan Warner quoting the children's movie Ratatouille.

Ryan Warner is an Oxford alum who graduated from Oxford Academy in 1989, to which he then pursued his dream of becoming an artist. The struggle with his realized dream was that he played sports all through high school – a contrasting lifestyle.

Warner graduated from Munson William Proctor Institute of Art, but was not immediately welcomed with open arms during his initial art portfolio due to his background in the sporting world.