SINGAPORE: Making money out of a skill is not something most 10-year-old boys are capable of.

But for Keane Chua, he is not only a critically acclaimed artist but he has also sold all his works recently to raise over S$6,000 for charity.

Keane, one of Singapore's youngest painters, has eight years of art experience under his belt.

He started doodling at two and recently held his first solo art exhibition for charity.

"I get inspired by some other people's paintings...or when I go somewhere, I'll like to draw something about that place that helps me to remember (it)," said Keane. "Like the elephant car. I went to the zoo and saw elephants. I found them very funny. So, I came back and started to draw an elephant car."

Explaining his drawing on racing cars, he said: "I know that time is very precious and you cannot waste anything, and you cannot waste a single second. So I drew that racing car and 'time' to say that the racing cars are slower than time, no matter what."

His mother is naturally his greatest fan, but Keane's masterpieces were just taking up too much space at home.

"We have to hang them up in our house or keep them in the store room. Why not bring them out and try to sell them to benefit the others," said Chong Kwai Mei, Keane's mother.

"But not every piece, I (can) understand, because sometimes the paintings are really abstract," she added.

"Sometimes, I'll ask him and he'll explain to me that... maybe he's hungry, so he draws something he can eat, or at that moment he thinks of I never agree to buy him a toy, so he paints his toy."

From fast food to robots to supersonic cars, essentially the subjects Keane chooses to paint are his favourite things, which goes to show that you can take the artist out of the boy but you cannot take the boy out of the artist.

- CNA/ir