8-year-old artist: Don't call me Monet

He has the deft brush strokes of a seasoned artist, but Kieron Williamson is just eight years old.

The boy from Norfolk, in eastern England, has been hailed by the British press as a "mini Monet," a reference to the famous French impressionist.

The title sits uncomfortably with Williamson who considers his style more reminiscent of famous English landscape painters.

"No, I don't think I'm Monet at all, because Monet would do anything, do pictures of curly flicks. I'm more Edward Seago and Turner," he said, of the artists whose skill with a paintbrush was also discovered when they were young.

Asked what Seago would make of his work, Kieron replied: "I think he'd say, 'make your sky a bit more dramatic and at least do some more cows in the foreground.'"

Kieron's growing list of international customers may take issue with the youngster's harsh critique of his own work.

A recent exhibition of 33 of the boy's paintings sold out in 27 minutes, raising £150,000 ($237,000). An oil painting called "Sunrise at Morston" went for £7,995 ($12,700), while another, "Marsh at Sunset," sold for £6,750 ($10,724).

"It's been remarkable," said Adrian Hill, the owner of the Picturecraft Gallery in Norfolk who offered early advice to the budding painter and now exhibits his art.

"They camped outside for up to two days beforehand, traveling as far as from South Africa, Arizona in the States, New Jersey and New York.

"We had phone bids from Hong Kong, certainly from the States, and other parts of the UK," Hill said, adding "It was a very dramatic 30 minutes."

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