When mother Gemma Leighton enrolled her six-year-old daughter in an after-school Art Club at her elementary school, she surely never expected her daughter to feel discouraged in her passions.
But that was exactly what happened a few days ago, when six-year-old Edie returned home from school unsure about her future as an artist.
She brought home with her a large, elaborate painting, complete with a sky, trees and ground with a unique color palette.
@GemLeighton/Twitter
The assignment she followed appeared to be a study in perspective drawing, in which items in the forefront appear larger, and items in the distance appear smaller and "higher" on the page, giving the illusion of being further away.
Six-year-old Edie returned home from school feeling disappointed, despite the effort she put into her painting.
According to the child, her art teacher told her her painting was "wrong."
Leighton shared what happened on Twitter, looking for renewed inspiration for her daughter.
"My 6-year-old daughter painted this amazing scene at an after-school art club."
"Her art teacher told her she had done it wrong?!"
"You can't do art wrong"
"She was so upset as art is her favorite thing to do."
"Can you please show Edie some support and like her painting?"
But the Twitterverse did much more than "like" her painting.
An overwhelming number shared their own stories of being discouraged in their pursuit of art.
Some showed their support for the young artist's painting, including KISS lead singer Paul Stanley.
Others wanted a copy of it or even wanted to buy it.
Leighton was absolutely overwhelmed with the responses from the platform.
"I am absolutely blown away by the response from all of you amazing twitter folk."
"Thank you so much for all of your encouragement, support, links, and resources."
"You've all helped to inspire my little girl and for that, I cannot thank you enough."
Six-year-old Edie showed her appreciation for the responses, too.
"Hello everybody, thank you for all your kind comments."
"I'm putting a shop on Etsy called 'Edie's Art' and if you don't have it… just download it."
Though it was a funny surprise at the time, Leighton decided to create an Etsy shop for her daughter, where prints of the painting would be available.
In addition, she created a separate Twitter account, called "Edie's Art," where she would share more of Edie's art and hoped other parents would share their children's work as well.
Edie, her mother and this Twitter community clearly understand the value of loving art for art's sake.
For those who are interested in studying art, there are certain lessons one has to learn to improve their craft, such as color values, shading, dimensions and perspective. But beyond learning these tools, art is purely subjective and all about self-expression.
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