Akiane - The Oprah Show (2003)

We're meeting the world's most talented kids, at least some of them today. Our next guest is already earning $25,000 for her work, and she's only nine. We discovered Akyana Kramarik in a small town in Idaho. To date, she's completed 40 paintings. Hello. Akyana, tell me, you do faces very well, right? Yes. Tell us about this painting. Well, this is when I was eight years old. I did this with acrylics. You did this at eight with acrylics? Yes. Very nice. And I like the fur because it's orange because orange reminds me of listening. Of listening? Yes. Of course it does. How so? How so is that? I'm missing that point. How? Because when you look at the sunset, it's orange, and you listen to the birds. Oh, okay. So. Okay, got that. That makes perfect sense now that you've explained it. Okay? I recognize this. This is from the girl from the National Geographic cover, right? Okay. I did this when I was eight years old and with acrylics. With acrylics when you're eight? And the red with the red, it reminds me of love. Yeah. It does. It gives me a big feeling. Yeah, I like her. She's beautiful. Okay. Who's this? This is my self-portrait. I did this when I was eight years old with acrylics. Eight was a big year for you. Oh, my goodness. I don't know what nine's going to bring, but this is huge. So, this is a self-portrait of you. Yes. This is how you see yourself. What did you do? Take a picture? How do you do yourself? Well, I just take a mirror, and I look at myself, and if I don't find the right color, I just dab it on my nose and see if it's the right color. Oh, yeah. I do that, too. That's great. This is gorgeous. Love that. Thank you very much. Love that. Who is this? It's an African lady, and I did this with oils. My first oils when I was eight years old. Another big eight thing. Busy year, that eight. I think this is great. I mean, I think the depth of, really, richness and soulfulness in her eyes is really extraordinary. Thank you. This is my favorite. I don't know if it's because she's African, and I'm African American, but I really think this is my favorite. Go ahead. Thank you very much. Did she model for you, or did you see her someplace, or what? Well, I work from my imagination, or from models, or reference material. Okay, so which one was this? I put all of them together. You just... So, this is imagination, model, reference material, and you bring it all together, and that's what you have there? Yes. Okay, okay. And this? This is a Jesus, and I did this when I was probably eight to nine. Eight to nine? Yes, eight and nine. Okay. Is this your favorite? Yes, it is. It is? And why? Because I like it with the light stuff, and I like the hands. Yeah, I think the light feature is great. Now, how did you get the light on his hands that way? Where's the light source coming from? It's coming from the sky. Above, from the sky. Of course, he's Jesus. Of course it is. Of course. Yeah, okay. That is amazing. Thank you very much. You know what is amazing, too? I mean, you picked up the color in the eyes and some of the... Yes. Yeah, texture of the hair and the beard. Really good. Thank you. You're obviously gifted, right? Where does this come from? It comes from God. Thank you so much. You know it.