Estero resident Nalin Isme is an artist and book author. And he's 11 years old.

Splotches of paint cover the table. And the barber chair. And the washing machine that stands nearby in the garage. 

It's the at-home work space of Nalin Isme, an 11-year-old artist who lives with his family in the Island Club neighborhood south of Corkscrew Road in Estero.

Nalin, a student at Three Oaks Middle School, sells his paintings at Southwest Florida art shows. He also wrote a book, “AlphaTales,” which features his paintings and encouraging stories about animals finding happiness and achieving their goals. 

Art is fun, said Nalin, streaks of paint running down his forearms.

“One day you can be feeling sad and I’ll go out there and I’ll paint and I’m happy again,” he said.

“I just forget about the problem.”

Always an artist

Nalin began creating art at age 5. 

He learned his first technique — scribble art — off YouTube. He showed it to his mom, Nancy, who said it was good. 

“She got me some crayons and art supplies,” he said. “I just kept going.” 

From there, Nalin’s mom helped him learn new techniques and introduced him to artists such as Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat, a New-York born artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent whose popularity grew in the 1980s. 

Nalin learned how to use oil pastels, watercolors and chalk. When he ran out of mixed media paper, he painted on grocery bags from Publix and Winn-Dixie, his mom said.

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He enjoys painting faces and using splatter techniques, à la Jackson Pollock. Picasso, Pollack and Basquiat are Nalin’s three favorite artists. 

“He’s influenced by everything, everyone,” Nancy Isme said. 

Nalin said he enjoys working with acrylic paint. Most of his paintings are filled with bright colors. 

“They just pop more instead of black and white,” Nalin said. 

The Isme family began selling Nalin’s art in 2018. They attend local art shows regularly to sell Nalin’s paintings, Nancy Isme said. 

While Nalin said he is excited to make a sale, he admits that he dislikes watching his art walk away with near strangers. 

“It’s kind of sad, but it’s kind of happy at the same time.”

Now an author

Earlier this year, Nalin published his first book, “AlphaTales.” 

The book is a collection of stories Nalin wrote while in school. He wrote the first story when he was in kindergarten, he said. 

All four of the stories follow animals that start with the letters “A,” “B,” “C” and “D”. There is a shy alligator, a bear who doesn’t fit in, a heavy cow trying to reach her goals and a family of dogs trying to find happiness.

The four stories are accompanied by Nalin’s paintings of the animals. 

Nalin plans to write more stories and create a series of “AlphaTales” books. He wants to go through the entire alphabet, he said. 

“I already am writing the next one,” he said. Nalin is working on the letters “E” for elephant and “G” for giraffe. He’s started painting their paintings, too. 

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A future of possibility

Nalin wants to join the NBA or be an architect when he grows up. 

“I like basketball and at the beginning of school, I tried out for the basketball team and I made it,” he said. “Architecture, I just like it because I can use my art in it.”

Nancy Isme said her son's success inspires awe.

“It’s amazing to see,” she said. 

Nalin’s siblings are following in his painted footsteps.

His younger brother Ammar, age 9, and younger sister Nella, age 6, are also young artists. 

“Every kid loves art,” Nancy Isme said. “You’ve just got to encourage it.” 

Find a copy of "AlphaTales"

"AlphaTales" is available in softcover, hardcover and e-book. 

Website: nalintheartist.com/author-nalin-isme