She drew THAT at age 5?! O:

[Spirit Reborn]

Lol, forgive the title. It's just to reel you in. But it's actually relavant emotion_dowant

SO AD, I've recently came across this girl- some call her an art prodigy, some ..a fake.

Have any of you heard of Akiane Kramarik?
She was featured in Oprah Winfrey, Good Morning America, The late late show, and a couple others.

She started drawing at age 4, I believe..but I'd like to share with you an art piece she did at age 5:



She's says that when she was really young..she had these visions- really detailed, some were of space, some were ..from heaven. I know mixing religion and art is a touchy subject.. but let's try to focus on her skill. The fact that she's been self taught with absolutely no formal schooling is pretty awesome especially at such a young age.

Here's a Youtube video, interviewing her. Don't be deterred by the subtitles you see in the video- the narrator speaks in English, so it's all good.

Here's another of her painting this picture at age 13:

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you know of anyone else who started out young and posessed such a high level of skill in art? Who are they?
2. Do you believe that someone so young can be so skillful, who had the capacity to draw what they saw in their mind/dreams with such vivid detail who was self-taught, is possible?
3. What are your general thoughts about all of this?
4. Do you think she's fake?

There's another interview of her- she's 15/16 and she explains how she deals with people bashing her art and her beliefs- all touchy subjects but if you're interested- here's the link to that video as well: Akiane Kramarik -2nd interview

special note* Don't worry about holding back on your opinions [with respect to ToS, of course]. I'm not here to bash you on them- I'm just curious about what you think C:

[Vrazhe]

Wasn't there some evidence that Akiane girl was a big fat lie?

Whatever. I feel sorry for kid prodigies. Everyone ******** them up and making them drown in delusions. Eh.

[Spirit Reborn]

Vrazhe

Wasn't there some evidence that Akiane girl was a big fat lie?

Whatever. I feel sorry for kid prodigies. Everyone ******** them up and making them drown in delusions. Eh.

Haven't looked into that evidence. I'd definitely want to see it if it's true.
And I agree- they get a lot of heat from other artists and society in general.

[Atomic Octopus]

Wow, creepy fetus bubbles. That is disturbing.

She definitely is technically skilled (if she's legit, I'd like to see her process or a video of her paintings start to finish) but her paintings don't do anything for me. They seem like the kind of cheesy manufactured airbrushed art you can pick up at a mall. Is some of that bitterness that her paintings sell for $50,000? Yes, I admit it. stare

[Spirit Reborn]

Here's a speed video of her actually painting a piece called "Wonder". The reason I post this video is because I've noticed that some sites claim that she didn't actually paint her artwork- that her mom, who's also a professional artist, painted it for her and that they've never actually seen her paint anything in person because she says that she can't paint when someone's watching. So.. she decided to paint with a video camera recording.

[Spirit Reborn]

Atomic Octopus

Wow, creepy fetus bubbles. That is disturbing.

She definitely is technically skilled (if she's legit, I'd like to see her process or a video of her paintings start to finish) but her paintings don't do anything for me. They seem like the kind of cheesy manufactured airbrushed art you can pick up at a mall. Is some of that bitterness that her paintings sell for $50,000? Yes, I admit it. stare

Lol, yeah that is kinda creepy, I won't lie. And yeah- when I found out the prices of the work she sold was going for..I was like eek
know what else is creepier? I didn't even read your post until after I posted the 3rd youtube vid after you posted about wanting to see her process/video of her painting.

[Mahiru Suoh]

Fake?

I can't tell you how much it displeases me when people start waving the word "prodigy" around, despite the fact that some may exist.

I'm more of a firm believer in the idea of a "natural inclination" towards something.

In the above link, under "Fakes", they state that this so called "prodigy" doesn't paint when someone's watching and that she gets her inspiration from God.

Those are like minor red flags for myself. Apparently, her mother is a professional artist too?

I wouldn't put to much stock in that link (after all, it's just a little blurb) but if it's true, than I smell a scandal.

[Atomic Octopus]

Mahiru Suoh

In the above link, under "Fakes", they state that this so called "prodigy" doesn't paint when someone's watching and that she gets her inspiration from God.

I also find it strange that Jesus looks suspiciously like Kenny Loggins.

[Ms Spook]

I don't trust it for a moment if her mom is an artist too.

Seems like she is doing it and trying to live her dream through her child.

And...is it me...or does the girls body language seem sort of distant or of some sort of shame? She doesn't seem truely into what she's doing if she is doing it. While her mother is super excited.

[Tenko72]

None of that seems impossible for anyone of those ages to do, so I don't doubt her legitimacy. Her mom does come off as a stage mom, though.

The fetus bubbles creep me out too. I thought those were highlights on the bubbles, until I read Atomic's post. gonk Can't unsee.

[God-the-almighty]

I think what matters most isn't at what age they did things, it's where they end up. If she's being pushed it's going to burn out.

[Ulterior_Motives]

I think her parents just sat her down and said "Draw, draw 8+ hours a day, every day, and here's HOW to draw" from a young age. That's how she got so good. Not that she's going to stagnate and burn out, simply because that kind of realism is only impressive for so long.



Now, I'm STILL waiting for her to hit her rebellious teen years, and make s**t that's actually interesting and worth while to look at and doesn't look like it belongs on my grandma's bookshelf.

[harukaze poppu]

I've seen plenty of really young kids who draw like that or even better than that. I think her stuff is really boring to look at, there's some kid in England (no idea what his name is) who's like 7 and paints about 1000000 times better than this girl. He's a little douchebag but damn that kid can paint.

[harukaze poppu]

Ulterior_Motives

Now, I'm STILL waiting for her to hit her rebellious teen years, and make s**t that's actually interesting and worth while to look at and doesn't look like it belongs on my grandma's bookshelf.

This will never happen because Jesus won't let her. She will forever paint these incredibly boring things that are only "remarkable" because she painted them, not because they are actually that great.

[Mahiru Suoh]

Atomic Octopus

Mahiru Suoh

In the above link, under "Fakes", they state that this so called "prodigy" doesn't paint when someone's watching and that she gets her inspiration from God.

I also find it strange that Jesus looks suspiciously like Kenny Loggins.

Oh great, so we could have a possible tracer/copier/eye-baller?
This is getting fishier and fishier when stuff like this pops up.