Akiane Kramarik (;
born July 9, 1994) is an American poet and painter. She began drawing at the age of four.
Kramarik's best-known painting is ''Prince of Peace'',
which she completed at the age of eight.
Early life
Akiane Kramarik was born on July 9, 1994, in
Mount Morris, Illinois
Mount Morris is a village in Mount Morris Township, Ogle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census, down from 3,013 in 2000.
Geography
Mount Morris is located at (42.047614, -89.433972).
According to the 201 ...
, to a
Lithuanian mother and a non-practicing Catholic American father. Kramarik professed she saw the face of
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
in her visions. Her education began at a
parochial school, but she was later
homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
.
Regarding her influences and motivation, she states:
Paintings
Kramarik is a self-taught painter and says that
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
spoke to her when she was four years old, encouraging her to draw and paint her
visions
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
.
She began to draw at the age of four, was painting at six, and began to write poetry at seven. At the age of 8 years old, Akiane painted Jesus. Her first completed self-portrait sold for
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
10,000.
Kramarik's paintings are often
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
as well as
spiritual, involving
likenesses of Jesus, children, and animals, as well as self-portraits. She often draws inspiration from magazine pictures.
However, according to Kramarik, her main inspiration comes from her visions of
Heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
and her
religious experience
A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, or mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defens ...
s.
By age 12, she had completed sixty large paintings. Some of her works have been purchased by the US Embassy in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
She has completed over 200 artworks and 800 literary works and has published two best-selling books.
[Akiane: home page](_blank)
At the age of 10, Kramarik appeared on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
''. At the age of 12, she appeared on
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
.
She appeared in the 68th episode of ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...
'' in 2005 and the 21st episode of
''Katie'' in 2012.
''Prince of Peace''
Kramarik has said ''Prince of Peace'' is her "favorite portrait" and one of her most memorable paintings.
At age eight she had long been seeking the right face to help her paint an image from her dreams and visions when a family friend brought to her a carpenter as a possible subject. The man's face closely resembled what Kramarik remembered as the face of Jesus. She completed the portrait in 40 hours of intensive work. Not long after, it was shipped to her agent for exhibition, who then stole it and sold it without permission. For sixteen years the original painting was held locked in a bank vault, with the then-owner unwilling either to show or to sell it.
In December 2019, ''Prince of Peace was'' recovered by the artist's family and sold to a private collector for $850,000.
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 say he had an experience of visiting Heaven and had visions of Jesus. Years later, when he saw Kramarik's ''Prince of Peace'' on TV, he told his father "Dad, that one’s right."
Bibliography
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References
External links
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{{Authority control
1994 births
Living people
Child artists
American child writers
American people of Lithuanian descent
American women painters
American women poets
Painters from Illinois
People from Mount Morris, Illinois
Visionary artists
21st-century American women artists
21st-century American poets