Youthful Art
The Painting Ocean by Marla Olmstead. Mark and Laura Olmstead/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics hide caption
I'm not gonna lie, I generally scoff at abstract art. My thought is, why settle for an orange rectangle when you can get lost in a starry night? I guess I've just always been more a Renoir girl, than a Rothko. Which is why my ears perked up when I heard about contemporary art's youngest member: Marla Olmstead. This four-year-old from Binghamton, NY has been crowned a "prodigy" in abstract painting, lending an ironic sense of validity to the quip, "My kid could paint that!" And paint she does. So far, Marla has sold more than $300,000 worth in paintings. Is Marla a prodigy? And is this really the work of a four-year-old? You be the judge. Check out her paintings on her website. (Yes, she has a website.)