This Is One Con Who Doesn't Mind Getting Framed

Mohaf Isaeed works on one of his convict paintings.

Their passion for their art is what drives them, and their reward is in the recognition of their work. Con artists have it even tougher than the rest; they have to deal with that criminal element, making it even harder for them to succeed.

Mohaf Isaeed is one such artist that is struggling to earn enough money to feed his family, while fulfilling his desire to paint convicts.

Mohaf spent thirty days in jail on an immigration-related offense, and that experience gave him the inspiration to become a con artist.

"I was in the lock-up with many strange, but intriguing men," said Mohaf, describing his prison experience. "They were all so much like they are portrayed in the movies, but their expressions were wrong. I knew I had to capture them on canvas, and release them to the world."

Mohaf's first sketch, which he entitled "Man With Shiv", displayed the emotions of an angry man bent on revenge.

"I tried to capture the feeling that was inside, of a man who wished to stab another man in the stomach because he would not accept his offer of protection for money," said Mohaf. "I sold that sketch to an old man in the park, who said it reminded him of the time he spent in a detention cente in Nevada."

Artists like Mohaf try to shrug off the negative perceptions that people have towards con artists.

"Often, when I say to someone that I am a con artist, they are taken aback," said Mohaf. "The amount of negative energy that is out there is amazing. Somedays it can be a real trial."

Mohaf's paintings often depict "rough-and-ready" men with rippling muscles and tight t-shirts in grouped settings by excercise equipment, huddled in a courtyard, or shuffling in a hallway with armed guards.

"I can only paint what I have seen, and as a con artist, I must be free to tell the stories of guilt, innocence, and dropped soap on my canvas," said Mohaf. "I won't be fettered by the ball and chain of conventional representational discourse that imprisons so many other artists."

Mohaf hopes to fetch a few dollars for his provocative new painting: "Showering With Men".

"I'm not trying to pull anything off on anyone," said Mohaf. "Every image is true to the essence of what it means to be a con. I'm working on a new series called 'Public Viewing' which confronts the inner dialectic of the body under supervision. The first one is called 'Hard Dump in Cell 29'."

Lamar Petite, a local gallery owner, sees promise in Mohaf's work.

"He paints with conviction," said Lamar. "It would be a crime to not to show his work in my gallery."