A Child Artist, Kieron, 3

 
 
 

Vocabulary

local	remember	capture (2)
tutor	passionate	teach/taught/taught
mix	incredible	tell/told/told
ready	landscape	appropriate
coast	start off	know/knew/known
talent	challenge	background
absorb	organize	see/saw/seen
motif	outdoors	captures the moment
mud	play (2)	feel/felt/felt (2)
babble	mean (3)	run around
offer	practice	run/ran/run
gifted	master (2)	watercolors
pastel	sold out	shoot/shot/shot (2)
gallery	exhibition	as you can see
lad	public (2)	sell/sold/sold
gift	show (2)	if you like (2)
sponge	desirable	perspective
aspect	wonderful	all of the sudden
variety	meet up	meet/met/met
trade	besides	choose/chose/chosen
apart	grow up	apart from that
tackle	currently	foreground
blend	just right	as clean as you can
		blow up (3)

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Kieron Williamson is getting ready to start an oil painting on the coast of southeastern England. He’s currently painting mostly landscapes. And he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Kieron Williamson, Paints Like the Old Masters: “I start off with the sky, then the background, then the mid-ground, then a foreground. And as you can see in my picture it’s um done that. And it still got a lot of work to be done to it.”

His dad Keith captures the moment on camera and starts looking for other motifs he can use later, because when he’s outdoors, Kieran doesn’t always feel like painting.

Keith Williamson, Kieron’s Father: “Kieron likes to play in the mud and run around and look at, saw the things that are happening around him. And when he’s babbling and the mud he’s always looking; I mean we can be down on the beach . . . then all of a sudden, ‘Quick I need the shot of this,’ you know either he’ll take the camera from me and go and do it or gets us to do it.”

Local artist Carol Pennington was the first person to tutor Kieron when he was just five years old. She taught him painting techniques: how to mix colors, and how perspective works.

Carol Pennington, Kieron’s First Tutor: “He’s like a sponge: he absorbs everything that he’s taught, and you don’t have to tell him twice; it it’s in there. And he absolutely remembers it. And then uses it appropriately, which a child finds it extremely difficult to do.”

This is one of Kieran’s first paintings as a five-year-old he quickly showed his talent, and went on to take lessons from a local artist. Now he paints in watercolors, oils and pastels. Kieron’s paintings were first offered for sale at this gallery.

Adrian Hill organized an exhibition last November and it sold out in just under 15 minutes.

Adrian Hill, Gallery Owner: “He’s a young lad. He’s really passionate about his painting. He loves his art and he’s an incredibly gifted little boy, so I think that the whole care and package if you like is very very desirable to the public, not just because of the wonderful paintings, but other aspects too.”

Kieran’s other passion is soccer. When the seven year old isn’t practicing or playing with his school team, he meets up with his friends in the park. His father is happy his son has other
interests besides painting.

Keith Williamson, Kieron’s Father and Art Trader: “He needs a variety in life like everyone else and the painting that’s what he chooses to do, when he chooses to do it. Apart from that he’s happy to do football. He is cycling, watching motor racing, anything. The same as any other normal child.”

And like many other children, Kieron doesn’t yet know what he wants to be when he grows up.

Kieron Williamson, Paints Like the Old Masters: “A really good artist or a top-class footballer. Well I like it because it’s relaxing and I like football because it’s fun when you get all the tackles in.”

Kieron most loves to paint in the family kitchen. He’s currently working with pastels; and it’s a challenge to get the blending of the colors just right.

Kieron Williamson, Paints Like the Old Masters: “Tying to keep your colors as clean as you can. When you do a dark foreground and you blow up the sky it’s gonna make your sky
really dark.”

The painting is finished in just over an hour. The next Kieran Williamson.

 

 

Questions

1. Kieron Williamson likes to paint cars and people. Is this right or wrong?

2. Does Kieron only paint directly from nature?

3. When Kieron is outdoors, he is only focused on the scenery and painting. Is this correct or incorrect?

4. Has he had art lessons? When did he start painting?

5. Does he only paint with watercolors?

6. All of Kieron’s paintings are in his room. True or false? Has he become famous?

7. Is he only interested in painting? Will he definitely become an artist when he grows up?

 

A. I paint pictures Or, I used to paint pictures in school. Yes or no?

B. Do you know anyone who paints? Is she or he an amateur or professional?

C. Anyone can learn to become a great painter (or footballer, swimmer, writer, acrobat, singer, musician, computer expert, scientist, engineer). What do you think?

D. What should (young) people do? Should there be art lessons and classes in school?

F. What might happen in the future?