An inspired image of Jesus, “Prince of Peace,” made by her particularly methodical strokes, was one of the works she displayed on the Oprah Show when she was nine years old.

“You’re obviously gifted. Where does this come from?” Oprah asked Akiane.

“It comes from God,” the young prodigy replied confidently.

Akiane, then 10 years old, was interviewed and asked how she knows it’s God talking to her. “Because I hear His voice,” she said. “His voice is quiet and beautiful.”

Oddly, Akiane grew up in a little town in Idaho with a family who doesn’t believe in God and who never brought the topic up.

“It wasn’t just art that was happening. Simultaneous with art was a spiritual awakening,” said Akiane’s mother, Forelli Kramarik, who grew up in an atheistic family from Lithuania. “It all began to happen when she started to share her dreams and visions. And my husband was a former Catholic and did not share in the family beliefs. We didn’t pray together, there was no discussion about God, and we didn’t go to church. Then all of a sudden, Akiane was starting to talk about God.”

Akiane, who was home schooled, had no babysitters or a television, was not influenced by anyone outside the home, her mom said. “We were with the kids all the time, and so these words from Akiane about God didn’t come from the outside–we knew that. But there suddenly were intense conversations about God’s love, His place [in our lives], and she would describe everything in detail.”

Akiane stated that the painting was based on a childhood dream of hers.

She first intended to use poetry and other forms of literature to depict her visions, but ultimately decided that “it was too complex to describe through words so I painted.”

She said, “I always think about Jesus and talk about Him. I was looking for a [Jesus] model for a long, long time, and when I couldn’t find anyone, one day I suggested to my family to pray all day for this model so God would send the right one.”

The family prayed, and an exceptionally tall craftsman resembling Jesus, who was also a carpenter, showed up at their door seeking employment. Upon first seeing him, Akiane felt like she was going to pass out. “I told my mother that that was him,” she reflected. “I want him to be my model,”

Akiane painted the “Prince of Peace,” now a valuable masterpiece known around the world, based on a vision she had of a carpenter.

“Prince of Peace” was on its way to an exhibition when it was stolen; the painting’s vibrant and precise techniques were remarkable for such a young artist.

A few years later, Akiane received it back, however the shipping process had covered it in sawdust, which she meticulously cleaned off.

Akiane sold “Prince of Peace” to a private collector, and after losing a protracted legal struggle to recover the painting—which was then being kept in a dark stairwell—he turned his attention to producing other works that would go on to receive widespread acclaim.

After raising her family out of poverty thanks to her talents, Akiane held onto the hope that she would one day be reunited with her “Prince of Peace.”