Kieron has been called a prodigy, and the media have dubbed him a “Mini Monet” due to his Impressionist style. This young boy is now under intense scrutiny from art critics worldwide. Nevertheless, his parents, Keith and Michelle Williamson are determined that their son will lead a normal life. Schoolwork is the primary focus of Kieron’s day and they discourage comparisons between Kieron and other well-known artists.
“We are aware that it is the media who makes these comparisons,” said Mrs. Williamson. “It is a difficult thing to live with, because it is not what we claim as a family. To apply such comparisons at this age is premature, and it is important to know that as a family all we are celebrating is Kieron’s current standard and achievement. We share it publicly because of the huge demand from people to know about his progress. It has been a difficult thing to get used to, but it is important for us to let people know what we are like as a family, so they can judge us accordingly, not by what the papers’ claim.”
Kieron first took up a strong interest in drawing during a family holiday to Cornwall, England in May 2008. According to his mother, Kieron’s early efforts were to an extent the sort of drawings a mother might display on the refrigerator door. But from the start, Kieron drew natural surroundings, not dinosaurs or typical boy’s topics.
“What first inspired Kieron was a desire to capture the countryside in a picture, so his love of nature shows through,” explained Mrs. Williamson. “Kieron has learned over a period of time to try different things using different media. He will try most things and is learning all the time. We see subtle changes in his style every so often. But I think he will continue painting the countryside for a while longer.”
The young artist has had a limited amount of formal training. Kieron was invited to join adult art classes because of his existing abilities and he has had some one-to-one lessons with local artists. While his mother believes that he would have progressed with his art even without the formal instruction, she feels that the lessons have been important in helping Kieron understand the technical aspects of painting.
“He learns very quickly and is very good at self-motivation,” advised Mrs. Williamson. “We thought it was important for Kieron to ask people questions who could answer his thirst for knowledge. He wanted to know how to paint technically and we stopped guessing that very early on, because he overtook our capabilities!”
From the beginning, Kieron has approached his drawing and painting in a serious manner. His mother stated that he insisted at a young age to use proper artist’s materials. This is in contrast to his younger sister, Billie Jo, who doesn’t mind what type of media she uses when she’s feeling artistic.
“I think it is down to the individual child’s intentions, rather than the equipment. Beautiful art can be drawn in the sand, or [created] by grouping stones,” said Mrs. Williamson. “We have always offered praise, encouragement and enthusiasm, and allowed messy arts and crafts activities when the children were toddlers. Praise is important but so is honesty, so we always ‘sandwich’ any constructive criticism or comments between positive comments. It is easy to be preoccupied or busy as a parent and miss an opportunity to make your child’s achievements shine for a moment. So we always look for moments for them to shine.”
Art isn’t Kieron’s only hobby. His parents try to keep his life well rounded and he participates in normal childhood activities. He enjoys sports including football, table tennis, swimming and body-boarding. He doesn’t spend a lot of time watching television and in fact usually draws while he watches — as if somehow TV isn’t stimulating enough to hold his full attention. Kieron’s parents are pleased that both their children enjoy drawing and painting, as well as other activities, and that they don’t waste time on computer games.
As with any other eight-year-old, most of Kieron’s attention is channeled toward schoolwork. His parents insist that he concentrate on his studies so that he can choose any career path as an adult.
“Kieron paints of and when he wants to, and can change his mind at any time,” said his mother emphatically. “His personality traits are typical of most boys, but he is quite mature and well behaved unlike other boys!! His determination and choice to work at his artwork I think are different [compared] to other boys. He is competitive at sports and joins in playground games as well, but he chooses to come home and paint rather than ‘misbehave.’”
Kieron has experimented with clay at school and has tried sculpture using various materials. However at this moment in time, his mother sees that Kieron definitely prefers painting as a hobby. Art critics note that he is particularly talented in his advanced use of perspective and shading. Kieron received early attention for his watercolor paintings, but about a year ago he began painting with oils. He also enjoys working in pastels because of how they allow him to create a dramatic sky.
When asked whether they as parents inspire the artistic nature in their son, or if Kieron tells them what he would like to see or do for inspiration, his mother just laughed, “Kieron has a list most days, a list of questions or instructions, so he is very good at keeping motivated. We do give up a lot of time to support this, because even at age seven, now eight, Kieron is very dedicated and passionate about what he does. Perhaps we give more of our time than other parents, but that is something that we can give him. We are not artists so we can’t help him on a technical level. We just help him by giving him the support to paint on location, or by going to a workshop.”
What does the future hold for Kieron? According to the Williamsons, it will be whatever he chooses and his parents will support his decisions. Readers are welcome to follow Kieron’s successes and interact with him directly through his website: www.kieronwilliamson.com
