ORIGINAL
ORIGINAL
ORIGINAL
ORIGINAL
ORIGINAL
ORIGINAL
ARTIST
ARTIST
ARTIST
ARTIST
ARTIST
ARTIST
Born and raised in San Jose California, Tyler Gordon has been through a lot in his 14 years. He was born deaf and at the age of six, he underwent an experimental surgery and regained some of his hearing, he then had to learn to speak. This left him with a stutter, which led to bullying at school. As an artist, that struggle and adversity has shaped who he is.
At age ten, he told his mother, “Mom, I want to paint.” His mom, a painter herself, knew that Tyler liked to sneak up at night and watch her paint, but he’d never shown interest in trying himself, until now. She gave him some black paint and left him to work. Twenty minutes later, Tyler had painted a portrait of his school principal that blew his mom away.
He was a natural. Tyler began posting some of his paintings on Facebook and was encouraged by the response. He painted a portrait of Golden State Warriors basketball star Kevin Durant, which led to Durant’s mother reaching out to buy it. Soon he was commissioned to paint portraits of the entire team. Even with more eyes on his paintings, Tyler still had struggles to overcome.
In 2019, he was diagnosed with a Vitamin D deficiency after his femurs broke while he was just walking. He spent a year and a half in a wheelchair, but continued painting, progressing and evolving. This year, he was awarded the “2020 Global Child Prodigy Award” for his art. Through it all, Tyler remains humble, grounded and determined to make the world a better place. While the celebrity portraits, news shows, and big sales are all nice, his favorite thing to do is share what he’s learned through his “Paint with Tyler” videos online.
The Gabb Ambassador program, paired with Gabb Wireless, helps young athletes and artists achieve their goals while inspiring and empowering others to chase their own. Tyler has been a huge part in encouraging kids to do just that. Tyler speaks out on anti bullying, inspires other kids to be creative, and shares his artistic talent through “How To” videos. See more of what Tyler’s up to at Gabb here.
Many are inspired by Tyler’s story and his extraordinary artistic talent. Tyler has been featured in numerous articles, news networks, TV shows, and more.
