Kieron's parents, Michelle and Keith, write about their experiences bringing him up.
When he was a baby
Kieron was able to capture an audience at a very early age. We realised when he was crawling and exploring that he had a level of vitality that we would struggle to keep up with. Kieron met his milestones with ease and we assumed that he would be great at athletics. When he began to apply himself equally at school, we were even more impressed.
Kieron was not interested in drawing his own pictures, instead, we would have to draw dinosaurs for him to colour in. During our first family holiday in Cornwall, May 2008, Kieron asked for some paper: we assumed it was to help fill the time. He then announced that he wanted to draw the bay that he visited each evening. It was a small bay off the Helford river, after a brief discussion on composition, Kieron spent two hours completing his picture. To us, it was amazing. He had thought about perspective, composition, colour, the fencing, hills, boats on the horizon and the mid ground. Kieron coloured every inch of the paper and was himself very proud of his achievement.
Learning about techniques
As parents we felt that praise, encouragement and enthusiasm was free, and we had always been encouraging and supportive. We never thought that Kieron would continue to draw after the holiday, or that he would make it his primary past-time. He did, taking it seriously and taking us on the biggest learning curve we had been on. Kieron began asking us technical questions on how to put a picture together in watercolour, acrylics etc, and we had to put him in touch with people who could answer his thirst for this knowledge, local gallery owners and artists who had watched Kieron grow up, and who were equally surprised by Kieron's new found hobby. Keith and I collect paintings, but are not artistic ourselves.
Displaying Kieron's work locally
Kieron took his artwork seriously, so did we: we kept it all, photographed it all, and Kieron insisted even at the age of five on using top quality artists' materials. It was an expensive hobby in the beginning. We were so impressed with the progress that Kieron was making that we arranged with Carol Ann Pennington to display Kieron's work in the gallery window during Holt festival week. We had arranged for grandparents and a family friend to come in and purchase the pet portraits that Kieron had completed so that he had a chance to experience a 'sale'. He also needed to earn some pocket money to help pay for art materials. We never imagined that people from all over the world would be captured by Kieron's work and want to purchase it.
The media attention
The media attention that persists is remarkable. Kieron is adamant that he wishes to continue to paint, he wants his art work to hang in museums and he would love for the Queen to have a collection of his work too.
As parents, we have struggled to cope with the business aspect and the balance between protecting Kieron and celebrating his work. We are learning every day.
Kieron's sister, Billie Jo
None of this would be possible if it wasn't for the patience and support of Kieron's younger sister Billie Jo, who has such admiration and respect for Kieron's artwork and completely accepts the process that runs alongside normal family life. We are adjusting to busy school holidays and welcome the routine that term time brings with it.
We are as bemused as everyone else on where Kieron's artistic ability comes from, but we are so proud that he uses his free time wisely and produces such amazing work, improving continuously, exploring continuously, alongside normal, every day life.
The future
We don't have any preconceived ideas about the future, we hope that Kieron will take his artwork with him, wherever he goes, but we know that Kieron will expect much more from life. He said at a very early age that he would be world famous. Friends at school accept Kieron's abilities and it's business as usual with the teachers. We are so proud of Kieron's ability to keep his interest alive, searching the internet for images, taking photos whenever we are out and learning from other artists.
We look forward to high school with apprehension: do we apply a curriculum to Kieron's artwork or allow it to continue to grow organically as it has? There is no instruction manual, but we use Kieron's happiness as a yardstick.
If we reach a stage where it no longer works for whatever reason, we will adjust things. We fully expect Kieron to choose other past times, but are prepared at this moment in time to support him in his artwork. He may never have this opportunity again.
