Akiane

Akiane
Born (1994-07-09) July 9, 1994
Mount Morris, Illinois, US
Occupation Painter, poet
Awards
  • Happiness Hall of Fame (2016)[1]
Website http://akiane.com

Akiane Kramarik (/əˈkiːənə/;[2] born on July 9, 1994), referred to mononymously as Akiane,[3] is an American poet and artist. She was known as a child prodigy for making a concrete image of Jesus and had begun drawing at the age of four.[4] Kramarik's best-known painting is Prince of Peace,[5] which was completed at the age of eight.

Background

Akiane Kramarik was born on July 9, 1994, in Mount Morris, Illinois to a Lithuanian mother and an American father.[6] Her education began at a public school but she was later homeschooled.[4] She is a self-taught painter. She states that God spoke to her when she was four years old, encouraging her to draw and paint her visions.[7] Her parents were atheists at the time (they later converted to Christianity because of Kramarik's paintings and visions). She began to draw at the age of four, advanced to painting at six, and began to write poetry at seven. Her first completed self-portrait sold for US$10,000.[7] Kramarik donates a portion of the revenue from art sales to charities.[8]

Her paintings are often allegorical as well as spiritual, involving likenesses of Jesus, children, and animals, as well as self-portraits. She often draws inspiration from magazine pictures.[4] However, according to Kramarik, her main inspiration comes from her visions of heaven and her personal connection with God.[9] At the age of 10, she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show; at the age of 12, on CNN.[10] Additional appearances include The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (Episode: 1x68, April 25, 2005) and The Katie Couric Show (Episode: 1x21, October 8, 2012).

By age 12, she had completed sixty large paintings. Some of her works have been purchased by the US Embassy in Singapore.[2] Overall, she has completed over 200 artworks and 800 literary works and has published two best-selling books.[8]

Prince of Peace

In the spring of 2003, Akiane painted her first portrait of Jesus, entitled Prince of Peace. John Roth, a carpenter from Sandpoint, Idaho, was asked by Akiane to model for the painting representing Jesus. Colton Burpo, a near-death survivor at age four, had been identifying deceased family members from photographs, and the family had been searching for images that matched the boy's description of Jesus. It was not until Kramarik's Prince of Peace, a portrait of Jesus, was shown many years later on Glenn Beck's The Blaze, that Burpo confirmed that "they finally got one right."[11] Burpo's story is told in the New York Times number-one, best-selling book,[12] Heaven Is for Real (2010) and its film adaptation (2014). Kramarik is referenced in the film as the "young Lithuanian girl" and is shown with her painting at the beginning and the end of the movie.[13]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "Photos of Award Winners". Happiness Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Akiane art tour 2007". La Prensa. San Diego. June 8, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2014 – via Highbeam. (subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ Centi, Lori Rose. "Interview: Akiane speaks of heaven and paintings". The Washington Times. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Robin Heflin (July 11, 2004). "Strokes of genius; Just 10, Post Falls' Akiane Kramarik is dazzling everybody with her paintings, poetry". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, WA. Retrieved September 24, 2014 – via Highbeam. (subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ Jones, Justin (November 17, 2014). "Blessed or Cursed? Child Prodigies Reveal All". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2016. "Some researches actually analyzed my work and compared the Shroud of Turin with. . . this painting," Akiane told Katie Couric earlier this year. The Shroud of Turin is the alleged cloth in which Jesus was buried after he was crucified. "They said it was almost 80 to 90 per cent accurate.
  6. ↑ Her Life Artakiane.com
  7. 1 2 "Akiane Kramarik: Dream Child". Christianity Today. July 2004. Archived from the original on January 24, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  8. 1 2 Akiane: home page
  9. ↑ Rose Centi, Lori (February 21, 2012). "Interview: Akiane speaks of heaven and paintings". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014. Akiane began sketching at the age of four; by age six, she was painting on canvases. She told her mother that she had to paint because she had "visions from God." Her parents, who were atheists at the time, were simultaneously confused and amazed by their young daughter's paintings of heaven and Jesus Christ, to whom she referred as "God."
  10. ↑ "Lou Dobbs Tonight Transcript". CNN. October 24, 2003. Archived from the original on January 24, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  11. ↑ Billy Hallowell; Cori O'Connor (April 18, 2014). "Boy Who Claims He Nearly Died and Went to Heaven Reveals How an Image on CNN Captured Exactly What He Saw". The Blaze. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  12. ↑ BOSMAN, JULIE (March 11, 2011). "Celestial Sales for Boy's Tale of Heaven". The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  13. ↑ Marianne Klett, Leah (May 16, 2014). "Image of Jesus in 'Heaven Is for Real' Painted by 'God-Taught' Young Girl Akiane Kramarik". The Gospel Harold. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.

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