"Mini-Monet," 8, Taking Art World by Storm

Kieron Williamson is off to quite a start as an artist.

His impressionist style evokes Claude Monet in the minds of many an art lover.

Kieron lives in Norfolk, a largely rural area about 100 miles northeast of London on England's east coast.

And he is -- only 8.

Hence, Kieron's nickname, a "Mini-Monet." You could say he's experiencing an early -- brush with greatness!

A recent show featuring Kieron's work sold out in half-an-hour -- thirty three landscapes and town scenes, raising more than two-hundred thousand dollars -- from buyers charmed perhaps by the art, but for sure, says CBS News Correspondent Richard Roth, by the artist's young age.

The surprise for his family began on vacation two summers ago, when Kieron, then turning six, asked for something different to play with.

His mother, Michelle Williamson, told Roth she thinks he "was inspired by the landscapes, and he asked us to buy him some blank paper and some pens."

He began to sketch; then paint, and has been at it ever since, with fodder, says Roth, by the Internet, and art books, and the postcard-pretty outdoor studio that's all around him in Norfolk.

Kieron studied technique in a local watercolor class last year. He told Roth he "was the youngest in the class. Everyone else was grownups." How did he manage that? He "didn't think about 'em," Kieron replied.

And with talent that's still developing, Kieron says the hardest part is getting the balance right between light and shadow. And he says he hopes to get better at that with - practice.

On "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," Kieron said those adults in that class "really liked my pictures."

Michelle told co-anchor Ben Tracy>, "We've seen a gradual progression from the time he started, when he was five. Every now and again, every few months, he'll just go up another level. You never know what's coming next! And we just continue to be amazed the whole time."

Kieron's father, Keith Williamson, told Tracy Kieron's money will be "invested into things for him at a later stage in his life. we're trying to tie up his money so that, when he's in his early teens, he can't just waste it. And then, hopefully, the investments will come good and he'll be able to carry on painting without the pressures of life."

Which would suit Kieron just fine, thank you: He revealed to Tracy that he wants to be "a really good artist and profession footballer (soccer player)" when he grows up!