He won raves from vice president-elect Kamala Harris after painting a portrait of her. Now the rest of America — including LeBron James — is discovering that San Jose teen artist Tyler Gordon, who has overcome a number of physical barriers, is an exceptional talent.
Last week, Gordon, 14, was named a Top 5 finalist for Time magazine’s first-ever Kid of the Year honor during a Nickelodeon TV special. He received the exciting news on-screen from NBA superstar Russell Westbrook.
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“It was so hard not to cry,” Gordon said, recalling the magic moment.
He’ll be on TV tonight, Dec. 11, when Time magazine’s “Kid of the Year” special re-airs at 7 p.m. on Comedy Central. It will also broadcast Dec. 21 on CBS.
The contest, modeled after the magazine’s famed Person of the Year campaign, started with a list of some 5,000 youths ages 8 to 16. Gordon is still amazed he broke into the Top 5.
“I feel really grateful that, out of the thousands of kids who were considered, I made it this far. And I’m grateful for my family for helping me along the way,” said the young artist, who was born deaf. He underwent a surgery at age 5 that allowed him to hear in one ear, but after the operation he began to stutter. He also used a wheelchair for nearly two years after breaking bones in his legs and hips due to a Vitamin D deficiency.
In elementary school, Gordon was bullied so often that he barely uttered a word.
“His escape was to not speak at all,” Gordon’s mother, Nicole Kindle, told Nickelodeon. “He’d nod his head or point, he was so afraid.”
But at 10, Gordon found his artistic voice. After watching his mom paint, he decided to give it a try and won first place in a school art contest. In the years since, he has painted more than 500 portraits, mostly of Black icons who inspire him.
“Sometimes I can’t talk and get words out, so I speak through my art,” Gordon said. “My art gives me power to be myself.”
Time announced before the Nickelodeon special that Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old Colorado scientist and inventor, had earned top honors. All five finalists receive a cash prize and are given a chance to contribute to the magazine.
Gordon, a freshman at William C. Overfelt High School, was praised by the selection committee for overcoming major personal challenges and using his art to advocate for anti-bullying and social justice issues. He recently started a foundation called TongueTyed to help other kids with speech impediments deal with bullies and get the services they need.
Although Gordon missed out on the ultimate Time accolade, he has plenty to celebrate these days. Last month, he painted a portrait of Harris and shared it on social media, hoping the incoming vice president would see it. Chelsea Clinton and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo were among the Twitter users who helped to spread Gordon’s message.
On the day before Thanksgiving, Gordon received a phone call from Harris, who told him, “I’m overwhelmed with the magnificence of your artistry. You really have a gift. … I was so touched to see it.”
“I was in complete shock,” Gordon said. “I didn’t really expect her to call me. We had a nice, chill conversation that was cut short only because she was cooking cornbread and the (oven) timer went off.”
Gordon followed that up by painting a portrait of Joe Biden, pointing out that he has a personal connection to both the president-elect and vice president-elect. He admires Harris, an Oakland native, for breaking barriers like he has, and Biden for overcoming a stutter.
“He really inspires me,” Gordon said of Biden. “Even though he has a stutter, he’s not afraid to do public speeches. That gives me more confidence to accept my stutter and slow myself down.”
Meanwhile, the honors keep rolling in. As part of his Kid of the Year tribute, he was commissioned by Time to paint a cover portrait of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James for its Athlete of the Year issue. In revealing the cover Thursday on his Instagram account, he wrote:
“I have defied the odds, I wouldn’t let the word can’t be a part my vocabulary. I’m proud of who I am and what I’ve been through because without all of the bad that happened to me, there wouldn’t be this good happening to me right now.”
Four of Gordon’s pieces, including the Harris and Biden portraits, are now on display in Los Angeles at the Beverly Center as part of an “Heirs to the Throne” pop-up exhibit featuring work from Black contemporary artists. And earlier this year, he was honored with a 2020 Global Child Prodigy Award.
Gordon’s big break came in 2018 when his portrait of NBA star Kevin Durant, then with the Golden State Warriors, went viral and caught the eye of Durant’s mother, Wanda, who bought it for $300. Celebrities then started calling on him. Among the famous people Gordon has painted and met are Janet Jackson, Kevin Hart, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez.
In 2019, a portrait of the Central Park Five fetched more than $100,000 at auction,
This past summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Gordon used his canvas to raise awareness about victims of police brutality. Looking to the future, he would “love to attend NYU, open my own personal gallery and have my art all over the world.” Oh, and he’d like to have a presidential portrait hanging in the White House some day.
Despite all the starry-eyed attention, Kindle insists that Gordon, the youngest of five kids, remains grounded.
“He still gets in trouble for a messy room and not making his bed. … He still goes crazy for Skittles and Pop-Tarts,” she said. “And he still does his painting with cheap acrylics from Walmart.”
Contact Chuck Barney at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.chuckbarney.
