Akiane Kramarik blends art and faith. She is the latest international child prodigy, whose paintings have won her accolades in the United States and abroad.
Akiane, who's appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, told XPRESS what inspired her to be a painter, a poet and a philanthropist.
“When I was four years old, I felt I was taken to heaven, and from then I started having visions and that inspired me to draw,'' said Akiane, who at 12 has joined the ranks of expressionist artists like Van Gogh, Edvard Munch and August Strindberg.
Akiane has never gone to an art school. “I am self-taught. In other words, God is my teacher. I get up at 4.30 in the morning to start painting, when it is silent in the house, before my three brothers get up.''
Akiane's two older brothers Delfini, 16, and Jean Lu, 14, have decided to open the “Akiane'' gallery for her, while the youngest, Ilia, 5, “wants to run it''.
Her paintings are expensive, but a portion of the revenue goes to charity. “My paintings are sold for between $50,000 (Dh184,000) and $1,000,000 (Dh3.67 million). We donate a portion of revenue to charities. My goal is to help poor children around the world.''
Her firm, Artakiane LLC, also sells limited editions of her paintings that are reproduced on canvas geclees (inkjet reproduction). They cost about $2,000 (Dh7,350) each.
Akiane does not go to a school now. After attending public and private institution earlier, she studies at home. She said: “I decided to study at home because by doing this, I have more time with my family, and more time to paint and write poetry.''
Akiane's quickest painting is Planted Eyes, which she took 15 hours to complete. Other paintings like The Journey, The Missing Years and The Dreams took 100, 200 and 300 hours respectively. She paints six days a week in her studio.
Aside from painting, Akiane is also a gifted poet and an author. She has written two books: Akiane: Her Life, Her Art, Her Poetry and My Dream is Bigger than I – Memories of Tomorrow.
Like other children she too has dreams. Ten years from now, “I see myself helping poor children around the world. I plan to meet presidents, kings and queens. To paint 100 more paintings and publish 10 more books. I also want to compose songs and get married.''
Palette
- Akiane was born on July 9, 1994 in Mount Morris, Illinois, to a Lithuanian mother and an American father.
- She speaks Lithuanian, Russian and English. She also understands sign language.
- She has been selected as one of 20 accomplished visual artists in the world by Tribute Entertainment (London).
- She had solo art exhibitions at the age of 9, 10, 11 and 12 in Idaho, North Carolina, Iowa, California, Washington and Virginia.
- Her pets include two parakeets, a golden retriever named Simba and a three-pound teacup poodle, Koko.
