Akiane

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

Akiane Kramarik (/əˈkiːənə/;[2] born July 9, 1994)[3] is an American poet and artist. She began drawing at the age of four.[4] Kramarik's best-known painting is Prince of Peace,[5] which she completed at the age of eight.

Early life

Akiane Kramarik was born on July 9, 1994, in Mount Morris, Illinois, to a Lithuanian mother and a non-practicing Catholic American father.[6] Kramarik professed she saw the face of Jesus Christ in her visions. Her work and words manifest New Age and Buddhist influences. Her education began at a parochial school, but she was later homeschooled.[4] Regarding her influences and motivation, she states:

Religious art of sculptures, reliefs and paintings in one of the parochial schools I attended greatly influenced my later attraction to legendary figures. For the first time I got to encounter the world's view of what divinity was supposed to be, but deep down I felt that I perceived everything in a much broader and deeper sense. It appeared to me as if most people were completely ignorant of other realities, or that the realities they perceived were seen only from a very narrow angle.[7]

Paintings

Kramarik is a self-taught painter and claims that Jesus spoke to her when she was four years old, encouraging her to draw and paint her visions.[8] She began to draw at the age of four, was painting at six, and began to write poetry at seven. Her first completed self-portrait sold for US$10,000.[8]

Kramarik's 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 religious experiences.[9] By age 12, she had completed sixty large paintings. Some of her works have been purchased by the US Embassy in Singapore.[2] She has completed over 200 artworks and 800 literary works and has published two best-selling books.[10]

At the age of 10, Kramarik appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. At the age of 12, she appeared on CNN.[11] She appeared in the 68th episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2005 and the 21st episode of Katie in 2012.

Spirituality

In an interview with KCTS 9, Kramarik described her family's religious beliefs, saying:

You know, I have to tell you, we went through almost everything. We went from being Christian to being Catholic, we studied Buddhism… but at this particular point, I think every single one of my siblings, they have their own path, their own spiritual enlightenment they are reaching. I have my own, my parents have theirs, and my brothers have theirs. I cannot say what they believe in or what path they are choosing, but for me, I can say I am the same person I was when I was four years old… I am spiritual.[12]

Prince of Peace

The Prince of Peace is one of Akiane's favorite paintings of hers.[13] At the young age of eight, a mysterious carpenter was introduced to her in the hope that his facial features would inspire Akiane. Thinking that he closely resembled one of her recurrent memories of Jesus from her dreams and visions, she thought it was the perfect moment to start the painting. After 40 long hours of intensive painting, she completed the Prince of Peace. The original painting was then shipped to her agent for supposedly an exhibition, but he stole it and sold it for a low price instead. As of 2018, the original painting is said to be locked in a bank vault, the current owner refusing to return the painting.[14][15][16]

At the age of four, Colton Burpo, whose story was featured in the best-selling book Heaven is for real and the film adaptation of the same name, underwent a critical operation after his appendix burst. Although it was not a near-death experience (his heart never stopped), he did claim to have an experience of visiting Heaven and had visions of Jesus. He stated that Kramarik's Prince of Peace depiction of Jesus matched the one from his visions.[17][18][19]

Bibliography

  • Akiane Kramarik, (2006). Akiane: Her Life, Her Art, Her Poetry. Nashville: W Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8499-0044-1.
  • Akiane Kramarik, (2006). Akiane My Dream is Bigger Than I: Memories of Tomorrow. Artakiane.llc. ISBN 0-9778697-0-9.

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. ↑ "Interview: Akiane speaks of heaven and paintings". The Washington Times. December 31, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Akiane, My Story". Akiane.com. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Akiane Kramarik: Dream Child". Christianity Today. July 2004. Archived from the original on January 24, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  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. ↑ Akiane: home page Archived May 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Lou Dobbs Tonight Transcript". CNN. October 24, 2003. Archived from the original on January 24, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Akiane Kramarik: CONVERSATIONS AT KCTS 9". KCTS 9/YouTube. August 16, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Child Prodigy is a Self-Made Millionaire from Selling Her Incredible Paintings SuperHuman: Geniuses". January 8, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Prince of Peace - Akiane Gallery". Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Painting The Impossible by Akiane Kramarik". July 9, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  16. ↑ Corneliuson, Carol (July 8, 2017). "JESUS, BY AKIANE KRAMARIK". Art & Soulworks. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  17. ↑ BOSMAN, JULIE (March 11, 2011). "Celestial Sales for Boy's Tale of Heaven". The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  18. ↑ "The "Heaven is for Real" Painting of Jesus". Art & Soulworks. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Heaven is for Real Jesus Painting". Art & Soulworks. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  • Official website
  • "Akiane art".
  • Akiane on IMDb
  • "Interview: Akiane Kramarik". Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
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