10-Year-Old's Paintings Fetch Thousands

ByABC News
June 2, 2005, 10:18 AM

SPOKANE, Wash., June 4, 2005 — -- At the age of 10, Akiane Kramarik already is a seasoned artist. After all, she started at age 4.

"She started drawing on walls with tomatoes, with charcoal, with fruit, everywhere in the house," said her mother, Foreli Kramarik.

Once she got hold of paint, there was no stopping her.

Now a renowned prodigy in the art world, Akiane Kramarik's work fetches thousands of dollars.

Steve and Abby Appelt of Indianapolis paid $50,000 for Akiane's painting of a young Jesus.

They already had an extensive art collection including works by Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso.

"And now, Akiane," Steve Appelt added.

Prints of Kramarik's work, digitally scanned onto canvas, sell for between $1,500 and $2,500. The artist herself oversees every print to make sure the colors are right.

The family donates some of the profit from each painting to charity. The idea, family members say, came from Akiane, who knows something about gifts.

When Akiane is not studying or playing with her three brothers -- all home schooled, like their sister -- she is painting. When she puts brush to canvas, she is totally focused on her work. And her work begins early.

"I get up at 4:30 every morning and I do art at 5," she said. "Then I do probably two to three hours."

She sometimes uses models for her paintings, but her inspiration is spiritual.

"God gives me ideas, and I paint them," Kramarik said.