some say her paintings are not unlike picasso .. nifty website ..some say their 4 year old could paint something better then the average art out there .. well she is ! lol!

a gallery of her paintings [www.marlaolmstead.com]

and her main site [www.marlaolmstead.com]


"When I am in Marla's presence, there's a weird feeling 'cause I know there's something inside this girl that many artists look for their whole lives and never have."
Anthony Brunelli _






Did You Know:


Marla's first painting sold for $250 when she was 2.

When she paints, Marla uses acrylic paint, brushes, squirt bottles, spatulas, and the ideal child stand-by: her fingers.

Marla's favorite color is pink.

When Marla was 2, her favorite bedtime book was a Children’s Dictionary.

Her favorite painting is Purse.

After one of her first paintings was sold, the collector found an Eeyore sticker Marla had hidden in it.

She was almost a Leap Day baby.

She loves to cook and watches The Food Network daily.

Her favorite things about gallery openings are the other children and the cookies.

She is a descendant of Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park.

One of her paintings, Digits I, hangs next to a Renoir.

She is much more comfortable behind the lens, and her favorite “toy” is an old digital camera.

Her great-grandfather, great-uncle, great-aunt and two of her second cousins are/were professional artists.

California collector Stuart Simpson, who owns paintings by Monet and Renoir as well as a sculpture by Rodin, bought three Marla's paintings.

Some of Marla’s favorite movies are Shrek and Ice Age

Marla likes to eat gnocchi and watches cooking shows with her mom, and especially Emeril with her grandmother

Marla prefers to paint in the morning.

When Marla decides she is finished, she gives her painting titles like “Dinosaur,” or something reminiscent of a bedtime monster

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2007 12:02PM by Jgunn.

There's another child artist with far better pictures near here in Idaho.

elnatural

In what part of Idaho do you live? I have been to Coeur d' Alene. It's beautiful

inspirit - aka coolkarma

I'm just across the border in WA.
But just found a heaven on earth area in Idaho that I'd like to move to.

Coeur d' Alene is very beautifull too. I get over there about every other week.

[www.artakiane.com]
this is the artist I was talking about. extreem talent.

Elnatural



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2007 04:58AM by elnatural_1.

i like the first art best, so colourful and vibrant. really inspired creative flow.
the second art is great, especially for her age. wow. but i prefer the abstract work, it's very uncontrived.

amazing children are .. too bad we grow up

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

i likes my art ze best!

i put assorted paint in my hair then i just whip it across the canvass

Akiane has awesome portraits - I never cease to be amazed with people who can 'see' the shape in the wood or marble then remove all extraneous material to reveal it; or those who can reproduce an image just like one they've seen, such as a face.


I like abstract too, but it's such a different thing to replicating a face or scene or animal. I think abstract is largely self-expressive and subjective, and can be very pleasing and provoking, but realistic painting is like a devotion or contract to the original image - like being an agent or messenger who makes a conscientious effort to pass on information without altering it, so as to maintain its truth.

In the movie "The Skulls" there is a machine making the first type of paintings. So no talent is needed. A monkey can do it just fine.

elnatural

These remind me of - what was her name -- that used to post on here. She was an artist, with a website of her work. Wish I could remember her name. Oh, yeah -- Baby. Her posts were off the wall, but she was actually nice.

wow elnatural, that was unexpectedly ugly coming from you. opinion is one thing but calling an artist talentless is really harsh.
technique and composition count for something my friend. portraits may take skill but they bore me, i prefer the liveliness of less realistic art.
to each their own, of course, but let's give the girl her due. i have a six year old and, as much as i love it, his art is a far cry from hers!

as i could find no examples of art done by a monkey .. id have to disagree lol...



...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I don't consider those first pictures in any sense art. Watch that robotics machine do the exact same thing or even better.

elnatural

I like LaV's idea of art .. sounds like fun

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

well el, you're of course entitled to your opinion but not appreciating it as art doesn't make it cease to be art for others. having attended art classes for YEARS i still can't paint like that. can you? computers can do amazing things including recreating a face but computers aren't people and i don't think their efforts are anywhere on par with those of a person.
i like the first art, i'm not fond of the second but i'm willing to agree to disagree on this.

I didn't say a computer, a robot, a purely mechanical machine.

I have painted far better than that. And just wait till you see and hear the harp I'm close to finishing.

ok that's enough

elnatural

It would help to have a common definition of 'art'.

Some say it's self-expression, some say it's skill, or inspiration, or the ability to please the senses, or a combination of these and more. Some feel handicrafts are art, cooking is an art, or anything requiring a strong measure of personal feeling, is an art. Or you can narrow the definition to fine art.


I knew a few artists when I was very young: even then I was doubtful that what they produced was good art; t was probably a few steps beyond craftwork. My friends in art school - is their art any better than my untutored ex, who entered an amateur photography contest and got 3rd prize among all the art school educated entries? How come I usually like the honourable mentions better than the winners?

Is photography art? Composition is important, but how many chemicals and machines can be involved in the final product before the effort is too contrived?



In the end what we call art is pleasing to us, right? Don't we always have a grudge against something we don't like that others insist is art?

They are both awesome artists. So fantastic to look at all their works. I love beauty from within and art can be a physical form of that. I imagine both girls would appreciate the other's talents and not try to compete or compare. Why would they? There is room for all.

i guess i shouldn't show you this then...

[www.jacksonpollock.org]

I don't think this documentary about Marla Olmstead has been mentioned yet:

"My Kid Could Paint That"

[www.apple.com]

hmmm hehe interesting

coco omg that was so cool lol !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Another article about her.

[www.slate.com]

My idea of art is Monet. I think the girl that Alan posted about has real talent.

I've always loved Akiane's paintings!

I saw a book at a used book store about a week ago that had cat painters and their paintings. It showed them painting and the result and theorized as to why they do it. The paintings were very interesting. They seemed to paint objects upside down in abstract, because they like to lay on their back at look at things from that perspective. Just thought I'd throw that in. ;-)

what i think is really neat are these kids doing something besides getting fat in front of a t.v. or computer monitor .. if someone wants to pay 3$ or $3000 for their efforts then who really gives a crap .. obviously wether you see the talent or not soemone likes their work i thought it was neat ... personally i like all types of art.. my brother in law is a talented and selling abstract artist .. there are people that love his stuff and hate his stuff .. to each his own

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist