Artistic genius makes Rs 2 crore in half hour by selling his paintings
Artistic genius makes Rs 2 crore in half hour by selling his paintings
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But while his watercolours, pastels and oil paintings hint at a talent honed through decades of practice Kieron Williamson is barely half-way through primary school.
The seven-year-old prodigy sold his latest collection of paintings for ufffd150,000 (Rs 2 crore) at the weekend, with all 33 works sold within just half-an-hour.
Far and wide
The astonishing sale attracted buyers from as far as Arizona, New York and South Africa, with others bidding by telephone from around the world in the hope of securing an original.
One couple from Philadelphia camped for two days outside the gallery in Kieron's home town of Holt, Norfolk, to make sure they did not miss out when the third exhibition of his work opened on Friday morning.
The pictures included an oil painting of Norwich Cathedral, a pastel of ducks on a marsh and a watercolour of fishermen unloading their catch.
Watercolours
Many of his paintings feature Norfolk landscapes or coastal scenes.
But the latest exhibition also included views of City Temple in Holborn, central London, and even a painting of Hong Kong.
The biggest sellers were a 20inch by 30inch oil painting called Sunrise at Morston, which sold for ufffd7,995
(Rs 6 lakh), and a 19inch by 25inch pastel called Marsh at Sunset, which fetched ufffd6,750 (Rs 5 lakh).
Kieron said, "I normally paint in the morning and I am up at 6 am and then after school -- but with the school holidays at the moment, I am painting all the time. I like landscapes as they've got the big Norfolk skies in them and not too many hills or mountains."
Until two years ago, Kieron's artistic talents stretched only to colouring in dinosaurs drawn for him by parents Keith, 44, and Michelle, 37.
But on a family holiday to Cornwall he was inspired by visits to harbours and ports and began producing 'mind-blowing' images of the boats in the water.
Art class
When they returned home, the Williamsons sought the opinion of local artists and gallery ownersu00a0who
confirmed Kieron's extraordinary ability to mix colours.
He began having weekly hour-long art classes with a local artist who was also a family friend and last summer, aged six, he held his first exhibition of 19 paintings, which were sold for ufffd14,000 (Rs 10 lakh) in a sealed bid auction.
The following November, another 16 of his paintings were up snapped in just 14 minutes in his second exhibition at the Picturecraft gallery.
Gallery owner Adrian Hill said, "Kieron has probably become one of the most collectable artists currently exhibiting worldwide. He has a very realistic form of painting. People can see what his pictures are and understand them. He's impressionist without being too abstract."
Kieron, who also has a sister, Billy-Jo (6), grew up surrounded by paintings in the family's small flat. His father, a former electrician, collected art as a hobby until three years ago, when a serious accident forced him to stop work and turn his hobby into an occupation.
The mother, a nutritionist, has said she believes the family's home, with 'no garden or outside space' may helped drive Kieron to create his own scenery through his art.
He now paints up to six paintings a week and up to 700 people have registered on a waiting list for an original.
They plan to buy Kieron a house with his earnings and invest the rest for him.
Williamson said, "We were shocked that all the paintings sold so quickly. Kieron is really pleased that it went so well. He is also a normal lad who is passionate about football."
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