Akiane explained the portrait was inspired by a vision that she had since she was a preschooler. She said that she would illustrate her visions through poetry and other writings but then 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 a very tall carpenter–like Jesus, who was also a carpenter–appeared at the family’s door, looking for work. Akiane recalled that she nearly fainted when she saw him. “I told my mother that that was him. I want him to be my model,” she recalls.
Spawned from the image in her dreams, and using the carpenter as a model, Akiane painted the “Prince of Peace,” a now priceless painting that’s recognized internationally.
Demonstrating vivid and detailed techniques, unusual skills from such a young artist, “Prince of Peace” was sent to an exhibition, but stolen along the way. A few years later, it was finally returned to Akiane, though during shipping, it came back covered in sawdust, which she carefully removed.
