Meet the artist known as Liam

I’ve not been hanging out on the Interwebs much recently. There’s a lot going on in my life and I just don’t have the time or the energy to deal with the idiocy, the well-shared but false information and the general human bashing that seems to occur 24-7 these days.

You don’t need me to tell you life has been very different in this country since at least mid-March. The novel coronavirus needlessly caught the country off guard and we find ourselves in unprecedented times — at least during most of our lifetimes. Quarantined because of a raging global pandemic, plunged into unemployment at near-record numbers and an economic recession teetering on depression, and faced with third-world-country-like shortages of basics at grocery stores have made for short tempers, crying sessions and sleepless nights.

That said, I do some occasional lurking in case I miss something true and useful. And so it is that I did indeed recently witness the collective Internet community using its power for good and I’m here to tell that story.

Liam Ryan is a typical 9-year-old boy living in Baltimore County. He is one of the tens of thousands of students whose school year was abruptly interrupted by the pandemic. School children by their very nature are social creatures, with school friends, neighborhood pals, immediate and extended family members, teammates and the like. They go, go, go and it had to be difficult for that speedy lifestyle to have the brakes applied so suddenly and swiftly. 

Liam finished his school year like most of the rest of the nation’s schoolchildren … at home, in front of a screen. He told me he tried to get most of his schoolwork and assignments for each week done by Tuesday so he had much of the rest of the week — aside from required face/screen time — to devote to his hobbies and more fun stuff.

A couple of weeks ago, Liam’s mother, Brenda, posted a picture of an unfinished painting of Winnie the Pooh on her Facebook page. In the post, she said that Liam didn’t often share his artwork; that in typical artist insecurity, he was afraid people wouldn’t like it or worse, make fun of it.

But here’s the deal. Even in its unfinished stage, the painting was good! It showed a good eye with placement on the canvas to give the subject a look of motion and engagement, and good perspective.

Shortly after Brenda posted the picture, the gushing compliments started pouring in from her many friends and colleagues. People were genuinely impressed with the young artist’s talents, and comments ranged from “good job” to “please keep it up,” peppered with the occasional hint that the poster (including this one) wouldn’t mind being given an original Liam Ryan!

A little while later, after considerable comments had piled up, Brenda shared them with her son, who was both amazed and pleased with the praise.

After getting Brenda’s permission to write about Liam, I chatted with him on the phone for a few minutes. He was shy at first but quickly warmed up as the passion he has for art and writing began to shine.

I asked him what all the comments from people he doesn’t know meant to him. Because let’s face it — your mother has to tell you your artwork is good but strangers certainly don’t have that obligation. The fact that so many folks spoke up and gushed about the painting meant something, right?

“It boosted my confidence, that’s for sure,” Liam said. “And I think I’m a little braver in letting people see my work now.”

Wow! Good job, social media!

He was a little surprised that she posted the picture on Facebook.

“I was grabbing a snack and I noticed she took a picture of my painting,” he said. “And then she told me she was going to post it on Facebook. And I was like, ‘Wait, what?’”

The young artist also has quite the sense of humor. Asked when he first got interested in drawing and painting, he said he was about 2 when he first noticed some crayons and paper on a table and got to work.

“And that natural talent just came oozing out?” I asked.

“No,” he said honestly. “That was just scribbles.”

After I laughed at that comment, he said, “I’ve also done stand-up comedy. I’m pretty funny.”

I mentioned that he might have gotten his sense of humor from his mother, who can be quite hysterical.

“She can be pretty funny,” he admitted.

He created the portrait of the famous bear with acrylic paints on canvas. The supplies were a Christmas gift to him from a brother. And he gifted the finished painting to a sister to hang in her bedroom. The circle of art life.

He said he Googled Winnie the Pooh and found an outline drawing of the bear. He used that outline as a model for his painting, and then finished it by adding a tree, complete with a honey-dripping bee hive hanging from it, in the background.

Liam Ryan poses with his completed painting of Winnie the Pooh. Photo by Brenda Ryan

Liam prefers to work in pen, marker and pencil except for the occasional special project.

“And I used to write stories but mainly stopped to do my art,” Liam said. “But I did mainly pictures that tell the story.”

Asked if he preferred the graphic novel style of storytelling, he said yes, but with a caveat.

“That, and my handwriting is pretty horrible.”

The pandemic brought Liam’s fourth-grade year at Edgemere Elementary School to an abrupt halt but he already has plans to attend Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, where he hopes to get accepted in a visual arts magnet program.

“I didn’t know about that until my grandmother told me,” he said of the regional magnet school. “It would be great to be able to go there.”

In honor of Independence Day, Liam created a drawing of Micky Mouse doing the Pledge of Allegiance, though he admits that wasn’t the original goal.

“I tried doing Micky with a peace sign but I couldn’t get it to work so I ended up with his hand on his heart and decided to add the flag.” he said.

Inspiration is inspiration.

Liam is part of a large, blended, Brady Bunch-like clan with eight children, mom, and dad Richard.

The parents are raising their children in a manner that supports and encourages them while also teaching them about realities and limitations.

“We are very firm parents,” Brenda said. “We tell all of our kids, we expect you to be the best human beings you can be. I don’t care what kind of job you have, what kind of house you have — be a decent human being who can make a difference to others.”

Brenda is convinced that Liam’s art has been a therapy of sorts for him. The family has been hit hard by numerous deaths over the past several years, including Brenda’s father and father-in-law, her brother and two of the blended family's grandmothers. Losing two grandfathers, two grandmothers and an uncle in a short period of time was devastating for Liam, Brenda said.

“My brother’s death affected him horribly,” Brenda said. “He really struggled; sad all the time, not focused, struggling in school.”

She started encouraging him to dig into his artwork and short stories as a way of getting the sadness and the raw emotions out, and firmly believes it helped.

“It really was therapy for him — it helped him move on,” she said. "He's very empathetic and very sensitive and tends to hold his emotions in — this really allows him to get those emotions out."

After losing several family members over a short period of time, Liam created this painting titled "My Life is a Mess." Photo by Brenda Ryan

Brenda said Liam was about 5 when the parents noticed he had an above-average ability in art.

“We realized he was above par and needed to encourage him,” she said. “He’s not a prodigy but he’s definitely above par and we want to continue to feed that for him as long as he’s interested.”

Liam admits to knowing he’s “more artsy than sportsy.”

“I tried soccer but didn’t really like it,” he said. “I like camping and the outdoors, but I don’t like bugs.” 

Indeed. I’m with you on that one, bud.

So, to the social media community, thank you for a spontaneous burst of praise and appreciation for a shy but talented young boy who’s had his life turned upside down more than once.

Thank you for being genuine and providing positive words that really had an impact.

And if you’re lucky enough to end up with a Liam original for your refrigerator, hang on to it.

Because you just never know!

"When Sadness and Anger Collide" by Liam Ryan.
Photo by Brenda Ryan

"A Happy Place" by Liam Ryan.
Photo by Brenda Ryan