The original article was published in the “Caderninho C” section of the Correio Popular de Campinas on 18/03/2017.
At just 5 years old, Aaron Barrios is already painting like a grown-up, and his works can be seen in an exhibition in Sousas.
He can be considered a child prodigy in the arts. At 5 years old, Aaron Barrios is a talented visual artist and is holding his first solo exhibition, called “You, the Art and Me”, at Rabeca Cultural in Sousas.
Very active, Aaron says that in addition to painting, he enjoys music—he takes violin lessons and plays a few notes on his father’s piano—karate, riding his bike, playing soccer, and playing with toy cars. When asked where he gets the inspiration to paint, he walks to the balcony and shows the landscape.
“It’s nature. The idea comes, and I start painting without realizing it. That’s the secret,” he says with a wisdom that is astonishing for someone so young.
His mother, Roseli Proença Barrios, known as Rose, says that ever since he learned to sit, his parents offered him paint, and he would play with the colors.
At 2 years old, came the tempera paint, and Aaron’s ideas were already becoming visible on paper.
Around age 3, as they noticed his interest growing, his parents gave him acrylic paints, and he began experimenting with colors—without mixing them—creating shapes.
The choice of colors has always been his own. “He would point to what he wanted on the shelves. Now, he goes to the store, and the sales clerks are already used to him—they stay by his side, and he decides what to take home,” Rose says.
Aaron only started school this year. Until then, he was stimulated at home through reading, music, and sports. The exhibition runs until at least April 9 (and might be extended by one or two more weeks).
On the final day, a charity auction of two of his paintings will be held. His parents don’t sell his artworks, even though many people are interested. The idea is to show the young artist that he can help others with his art. Thus, the money raised in the auction will be donated to Centro Infantil Boldrini, which treats children and teenagers with cancer and blood diseases, and to Retreta, a project in the town of Artur Nogueira, near Campinas, that offers free music lessons.
Aaron has never taken painting lessons. His technique—his way of using paint and playing with colors—is spontaneous. Rose says that there have been times when he woke up in the middle of the night to put on canvas “the ideas that are in my head.” At home, the family keeps around 150 paintings. In the exhibition, the public can see about 20 of them.
(Delma Medeiros / Agência Anhanguera)
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