``He has received no formal training in painting,'' claims his father. But 12-year-old Jordan Christian bagged a gold medal at the Avantika International Talent Search Contest organised in Hyderabad recently.

Children from 86 countries participated in the contest.

With very limited resources to fund him, Christian said that he began painting since the age of seven.

A student of the Webb Memorial School, Fatehgunj Christian primarily concentrates on oil paintings as it brings out clearly the image of animals and their moods. ``It is easier to make out the expressions on the face of the animals,'' he says.

Though he says he would continue painting animals, he agrees that painting human beings was a much easier task, as people would be able to identify with it.

Besides painting, Christian also enjoys playing the guitar. Though currently he plays the instrument, he says he wants to undertake formal training.

Already a proud owner of canvases depicting different moods of various animals, his father says even without any formal training, he paints better than many children of his age.

His father claims that principals of various city-based schools, members of his church and a number of teachers of the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University had appreciated his work.

According to his father, though nobody in their family was into painting, it was only because of his interest that they all got involved in it.

``He has created all the paintings by himself without any help from professionals,'' adds his proud father.