Security, colored pencil on paper, 5Ó x 7Ó

East Wareham's Tyler Poyant, 15, had his first commission at the age of 12. A janitor at his elementary school, St. Margaret Regional, asked him to do a painting of a Cape lighthouse. Thinking back to the beginning of his art career, Tyler laughs and says, "I can't really remember how it all started, it was so long ago!"

His mother will tell you that, "ever since he could hold a crayon," Tyler wanted to capture the world around him.

"The art bug," as his mother calls Tyler's passion for drawing and painting, bit him hard in the fifth grade when he won first prize at the Wareham Swan Festival. Soon Tyler began to draw and paint with a confidence beyond his years.

Poyant says that he paints from photos and from memory; anything that inspires him becomes a subject for his art. He has experimented in different mediums, from acrylic, to pen and ink, to watercolor. But it is his recent discovery of colored pencils that really excites him. "With colored pencils, you can get details like with pen and ink, but there is color--and I love vivid color," he says. His drawings of lighthouses and wildlife glow with that love of color.

Encouraged by his father and with a naturally entrepreneurial spirit, Poyant took a bundle of his matted prints to The Old Company Store in Wareham. The store owners set up a card table for him. It was then he found a second passion; talking to people about his art.

Since then he has taken his card table to many art fairs and events around the Cape. He has also formed a relationship with The Seacoast Inn in Hyannis, who buy his prints in bulk as gifts for their guests.

A few failed attempts haven't discouraged Poyant. If one gift shop doesn't work, he will search out another.

 Recently, Poyant's hard work has paid off; he has graduated from his card table to the walls of My Sisters Gallery in Sandwich, where you can find his work alongside that of several well-established artists.

For Tyler Poyant this is all part of a bigger picture. He is considering a career in marketing, or perhaps graphic design. One thing is certain­--this talented, resourceful artist will use his creativity to connect to the world for years to come--a pretty big leap for someone who still doesn't have his driver's license. — Erika Wastrom

Tyler Poyant's paintings and drawings can be seen at My Sister's Gallery, 20 Jarves Street, Sandwich, MA, 508-888-0756, www.mysistersgallery.net, or on his Web site, www.tpoyantpaintings.webs.com

Erika Wastrom is a painter, photographer, and freelance writer who lives in Barnstable.