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This is lovely Tena...thank you.

Thanks Tena

these are some questions she has answered,

Questions and Answers

The following questions were presented by many people interested in Akiane: the celebrities, television show producers, media personnel, journalists, editors, university teachers, art dealers, collectors, artists, writers, and museum curators…

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Art


How did you learn to paint?

Through a lot of work, study, and observation. When I was 4 years old, I was taken to heaven, and from then on I started having visions and I felt inspired to draw. I enjoyed working by myself. I drew many faces mostly from my head and at 6, I started painting in pastels. At 7, I received my first acrylic set. At 8, I was ready for oils. And at 10, I switched back to acrylics.





What visions do you remember?

I forgot almost all the visions and dreams, but you could see them in my art and poetry. My mother still remembers them, because I shared with her all of my experiences. A few of them are included in my book that is available in bookstores.





Why do you think you received the artistic gift at four years of age?

God thought that I was ready, and it was His timing.





Has anyone taught you?

I am self-taught. In other words, God is my teacher. I really like working by myself without any distractions, learning from my own mistakes. I even get up at 4:30 in the morning, so I could start painting, when it is still silent in the house, before my three brothers get up.





How do you decide when and what you will paint?

I pray and wait for an answer in pictures, words or ideas. When I have a picture in my mind, then I think for a while how I can put it on the canvas. If it is a portrait, I search for a model or study many people wherever I go. If it is a landscape, or an animal I research the resources or work straight from my memory and imagination. For example, when I was flying on the airplane I decided to paint birds above the islands. Then I studied how islands and birds had to look correctly from above. Since one of my favorite birds are swans, I studied hundreds of them sketching them in different positions. I often go to the library. garden or farm to study animals and plants. I enjoy observing for myself the behavior of wildlife in the nature. By the lake or river we see many eagles, ospreys, and swans. I watch them move, fly, land or play. Then I observe the shadows and the light on their bodies and take many pictures or sketch.





Where do you find the models?

I have noticed that I find the models when I am not looking for them, or, in other words, when I cannot find them, they come to me.





How many days a week do you paint?

Six days a week in my studio. I usually don't paint while I travel, and I travel a lot.





How many hours each day do you usually paint?

Four hours.





How long does it usually take you to complete one painting?

It varies. The planted eyes took me 15 hours. It was my first and quickest oil portrait. I have no idea why. The Journey - 100 hours, and Jesus...the missing years - 200 hours , The Dreams - 300 hours. Between my big projects I do color studies. These take only a few hours.





How do you usually feel when you have to work on a painting for a long time?

To me, it is normal to stop and continue for days. When I was younger I wanted to finish my work in one day, but now I am older and I got used to working for many days before I see the finished painting. It takes a lot of self-discipline.





Is anyone else artistic in your family?

My brothers, my parents and relatives are all talented in art, but, as far as I know, I am the only professional artist.





Have you been asked to demonstrate how you paint?

Yes, many times. We have a few paintings and drawings that have been videotaped from the beginning to end to show the progression. When the television crews come, I end up painting in front of the cameras for a long long time. I am most inspired, though, when I am by myself.





Which color is your favorite?

I love all the colors. Each gives me a different feeling. For example, yellow is the color of energy. Violet is the color of visions. Green is the color of peace. Brown is the color of rest. Pink is the color of trust. Gold is the color of providence. Grey is the color of old age. Sand color is the color of waiting. Orange is the color of listening. Red is the color of love. White is the color of truth. Blue is the color of the mind.





Do you always sketch out before you begin a painting?

I usually sketch for portraits, and you should see how many sketches are thrown out before I start the painting. You should see how many times I erase just to make composition and proportions right! But there are many paintings of animals, landscapes, and flowers that I painted without any sketching, like, for example, ''The evening swan'' "The Hourglass", The Antlers“, “The Forbidden Fruit“ and many others.





What do you like painting most?

Faces. They are more meaningful to me than anything I see. When we are born, the first thing we see is a face of a mother, father, sister, or brother. We can live without seeing a landscape or an animal, but we can not live happily without seeing or touching faces.





What types of expressions do you like to paint the most?

I like thinking expressions. They make you think and imagine.





Are you proud of your work?

If God is proud of it, I am proud.





How can you know, if God is proud?

How do you know if someone loves you? You just know it.





Do you teach other children?

Sometimes. I simply teach them how to see.





Share your thoughts about your self-portrait?

I wanted to show my relationship with God. Once when I could not get the right color of my skin, I just smeared the paint right on my nose to compare, if it matched. Oprah was laughing when I told her that, and she said, ''Oh, yes, I do the same.''





What is the most difficult part of the painting for you?

Of course, the beginning and the end, because at the beginning the proportions must be accurate. That is why my first sketch tries are quite sloppy. Then they get better and better, and maybe the 15th time I start making progress toward the likeness. One line too short, and it is a disaster. The beginning is the key, but it takes hours to get it right. Sometimes I feel that I have to be as accurate as a surgeon. When I do proportions I think, when I color, I feel, and at the end I have to really focus, because my eyes look at the painting for such a long time that it is hard to see mistakes.





When do you know when to sign?

Sometimes I sign twice. Before the painting and after. When I sign before, it gives me confidence, and it makes me imagine that the painting is already completed.





Have you sold any of your paintings .

Many.





Right now how much are you selling your paintings for?

Between $50,000 to $1,000,000. We donate a portion to different charities. My goal is to help many poor children around the world.

My company, Artakiane.LLC also sells limited edition canvas geclees-- reproductions of my work. They cost about $2000. I go every week to the printing house to proof the prints and make sure they match my originals.





Do you think people will keep collecting and buying your paintings?

It is all in God's hands. I don't worry about the business. I focus on creating art and my desire to help as many people as I can.





What do you think of all this publicity and fame?

Only God is famous. My gift to God is what I do with my talents. I thank him every minute for all the blessings in my life.

We each have a different gift, and this is our responsibility to share them with others.




Poetry

How do you write your poetry?

Effortlessly...After a prayer, I wait for an answer from heaven, then I see dozens of snap shots of pictures, words, actions, and events. And a lot of time I feel that God includes me in other people's lives. Through Him I feel other people's suffering and happiness, but soon I forget everything I speak and write. If you asked me to explain what I was writing about a few weeks ago I would not know. I forget even the meaning, and after a while I must figure out as everyone else.





Who taught you how to write?

The words just come to me. I would say ideas somehow have been planted in me.

I do not write from what I know, but from what the Spirit shows me. Before I pray, I am empty and have absolutely nothing to write about. But then I know, if I am silent, I start seeing pictures and words.





What is the meaning of your poems?

I feel that poetry is a puzzle, and everyone needs to solve the puzzle by themselves. And if I shared my own interpretation, others would be prevented from imagination. One poem can mean the whole book. I did not choose the poetry. God chose the poetry for me.





Do you understand what you are writing about?

From child's eyes, yes. I am inspired just to record, but not to explain what I write. Often I get blown away by what I put down on the paper and feel as puzzled as everyone else.





But what about such deep thoughts and wisdom that only an adult could have experienced?

I was blessed with sensitivity, and I do feel people. When it is silent and I pray, I feel everything so much that many poems are written as if I myself have experienced certain events.





Have you personally experienced any of the events you describe?

Yes and no. Through the Spirit I experience other different lives. Only a few stories I've written about is part of my life.





Do you know what your poem will be about before you write it?

Seldom, it is usually a surprise. It reminds me of a poetic sculpture where I spontaneously sculpt with words and meanings.






Family life


You were born into an atheist family? What changed that?

When I was four I started sharing with my family my visions of heaven. Through my conversations, through my art, and later poetry I brought my family to God.





Why did you decide to home school?

To have more time with our family and to have more time to do art and poetry.





What is your favorite food?

When half of the world goes to sleep hungry, my favorite food is the food I can share with others.





What gifts do you like receiving?

Love.





What pets do you have?

Two parakeets, a golden retriever Simba and a three-pound teacup poodle Koko.





If you could build any house you wanted, what kind would it be?

A diamond shaped house. Instead of walls, an aquarium. A million square feet home, with a 1000 bedrooms, so anyone without a home could come and live with me.




If you had to choose a profession for a thousand years, what would you choose?

I still remember in heaven the music, art, dance and speech is not separated: somehow all is blended with hundreds of sensations I cannot describe. That's what I would do.





What do you do with your free time?

Hmm…all my time is free. All my time is a gift and I choose to do many things throughout a day that would be meaningful. Apart from art and poetry, I love helping people, composing on the piano, playing chess, jumping on the trampoline, learning four languages, playing with my brothers or my dogs.



How do your three brothers react to your extraordinary life?

The oldest two brothers, Delfini,15, and Jeanlu,13, decided to open the “Akiane” gallery for me and run it.

And the youngest, Ilia, 5, decided to run in it. Ha ha..





Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I see myself helping poor children around the world. I see myself reading my poetry and showing my art during my international tours. I plan to meet presidents, kings and queens in many countries. Maybe by then I would have 100 more paintings and ten more books published. I would also want to compose songs and to get married...





What advice would you give to other children?

Live for others, listen to God and spend time in the quiet.





How come you talk about God so much?

Because He listens. Nothing comes from nothing. Love cannot come out of nothing. Love is God's light. I just can't help talking about it.





What is the most inspirational moment during the travels?

During one museum exhibit where hundreds of people were standing in line for three days just to shake my hand and look at my paintings. One old lady stood up from her wheel chair for the first time in many years just to give me a hug. And one boy who brought his whole family two days in a roll. No one knew he had a brain tumor and a few days before he died he talked about God in my art and asked to draw.


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