SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California teen received the phone call of a lifetime from Vice President- elect Kamala Harris. It all started when Tyler Gordon, 14, painted a portrait of Harris and shared it on social media.
The post captured the attention of Chelsea Clinton and racked up more than a million views on Twitter. Eventually, Harris saw the artwork and called Gordon to thank him for the piece.
“I was just really shocked. She just thanked me for her portrait and said that I have a really talented gift,” Tyler said.
After learning about Harris’ trajectory, Tyler adds that he didn’t think twice about featuring the Vice President-elect and Bay Area native in one of his pieces.
Tyler explains that he identified with Harris’ story because he’s also had to overcome many obstacles in his life, such as being born deaf and living in a wheelchair for two years.
“My mom told me about how she broke through tons of barriers and I felt like so have I, so she just really inspires me to keep going and do my best,” Tyler said.
Tyler says he began painting four years ago after having an epiphany that changed his life.
“One night I had this dream that God said that if I didn’t use my talent he was going to take it away,” Tyler said.
The next day, he dreamt the same thing, which reassured Tyler, who was 10 at the time, that he was born with a purpose despite being made fun of by his peers.
“I used to get teased a lot when I would go to school, teased for my stutter, but I’ve just learned to accept it and I don’t let bullies get to me now,” Tyler said.
At the age of six, Tyler had a surgery that partially restored his hearing, but left him with a stutter.
When her heard that Joe Biden had the same problem at his age, he felt inspired to paint the president-elect and accept his own stutter.
“That just makes me feel that anything is possible, even with the stutter that didn't let that stop him. He still reached to accomplish his goals,” Tyler added.
He’s reaching for his goals by saving money from his art to go to NYU and hopes to one day own his own gallery. He also wants to inspire other teens to go after their dreams as well.
Tyler’s portraits of Biden and Harris are now on display at the Beverly Center until January 31. Visitors can view his artwork Monday through Saturday from 12-9 p.m. and on Sundays from 12-7 p.m. Tyler is the youngest artist to be featured in the “Heirs to the Throne” exhibit.
Recently, he was also one of five kids to appear in Time agazine’s first-ever Kid of the Year list.