OAKKAR Nyi''s
paintings would make an accomplished adult artist jealous. At just 11 years old, he already has his first solo
exhibition under his belt. Yet the pint-sized Picasso seems to have remained charmingly unaffected. He likes cars, he says, so he has included them in every one of the
paintings — albeit in almost perfect perspective and with a masterly command of colour that recalls the early work of the Impressionists. "I have many toy cars and many pictures of real cars, because my father has bought me a toy car everyday since I was seven months old," he says. "My mother has also taken photos of cars for me since I began painting four years ago. So when I started to prepare for this
exhibition, I simply painted what I saw." Oakkar Nyi has not received any formal training in art, and although his aunt Daw Thidar Aung, who owns the Yadanapura gallery, had some aspirations of becoming an artist herself, she says Oakkar Nyi''s ability already bypasses anything that she can do. The doting aunt says without a hint of envy that she hopes her nephew will go on to achieve as a painter what she could not. She also says she understands his choice of subject. "I still remember that he never went to sleep or woke up without having his cars near his bed when he was very young," she says with a smile. "On every birthday, he would only show interest in the toy cars he received and discard all the rest of the presents." To his family''s surprise, when Oakkar Nyi was 7 years old he started drawing the toy cars he was so obsessed with. He says that by the time he was 9 he was using acrylic on canvas to depict cars he saw in photos. "Whenever I have free time I paint. I think will have enough paintings to hold another solo exhibition next year," he says. It will be interesting to see how Oakkar Nyi fares in the future with subject matter that does not involve four wheels. Oakkar Nyi''s work is on exhibit at Yadanapura Art Gallery in Bahan Township until November 25.