Tyler Gordon is a 15-year-old partially deaf self-taught painter who has gone viral for his stunning portraits of celebrities such as Betty White, Vice President Kamala Harris, and james lebron.
In 2020, his painting of James landed on the cover of Time magazine after the Los Angeles Lakers star was named ‘Athlete of the Year’.
Gordon has been painting since he was 10, ever since he said he received a message from God.
“When I was 10 years old, I dreamed that God was telling me that if I didn’t use my talent, he would take it away from me. So that night at 3 a.m., I ran into the room of my mom and told her about my dream. At first she thought I was playing. Then the next night I had the same dream,” Gordon previously said in an interview.
And with that, his mother, Nicole Kindle, who is also an artist, gave her a canvas and in less than 20 minutes he made a portrait of her in a style he dubbed “shadow painting”.
Gordon has since sold pieces to celebrities and athletes, including Janelle Monae who ordered a play and NFL star Richard Sherman, among others. vice president Kamala Harris personally called him in November 2020 to praise his work and thank him for his portrayal of her.
“You really have a gift, my God. I was so touched to see it,” Harris told Gordon.
“She was just very humble,” he later said of Harris. “One thing I really like about her is that even though it was right before Thanksgiving and she’s the Vice President [-elect], she was still at home baking cornbread with her family. It really inspired me to stay humble and keep moving forward.
Gordon’s talents have led to appearances on hello america and TMZ.
“Here in the house, he’s just plain old Tyler, in trouble for playing pranks on people and not cleaning his room,” Kindle said in a 2020 interview. is the master of grilled cheese sandwiches, he makes grilled cheese or fried chicken for everyone.”
Gordon was deaf until the age of six when he underwent surgery which gave him partial hearing. He was in a wheelchair for two years due to vitamin D deficiency and was bullied for his stutter.
gordon said LX news now host Jobeth Devera, that his art allows him to “talk without talking”. A typical piece takes him about 20 minutes.
One of his inspirations is the president Joe Biden, whose portrait he painted.
“(Biden) stutters like me and he’s not afraid to make public speeches and use his voice and I’m really inspired by him,” Gordon said. ABC News 7. “He helps me come to terms with my stutter…he showed me that speaking slowly somehow masks a stutter” Gordon captioned the portrait on social networks.
“Art has helped me a lot to express myself and show people that my differences are only positive. Now, instead of being bullied for being different, I can inspire others to accept their own differences,” Gordon said. Thanks to them, we can.
Last year, Gordon was a finalist in Time Magazine/Nickelodeon’s Kid of the Year Award. He was also featured in two Disney Channel commercials.
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