4-Year-Old Goes Viral After Creating Her First Original Painting on Canvas and Presenting It to Her Artist Mom (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Caroline Wendelin and her kids in the studio (left), Caroline’s daughter’s painting.Photo:Caroline Wendelin/Instagram

Caroline Wendelin/Instagram

An artist mom has gone viral for sharing her little girl’s first original creation.

Caroline Wendelinis an artist herself, so it’s not a complete surprise the oldest of her three kids is following in her footsteps. In fact, it’s something of a family tradition.

“I’ve been an artist full-time for about five years, but I started painting as a child myself. My mother was also an artist when I was a kid, so I watched [her] painting since I was born and then I started painting too. I tried a few other jobs in my early 20s and then I realized art was still what I wanted to do. So I’m really happy I can do it today,” she tells PEOPLE.

Having grown up around art her whole life, Wendelin naturally tried to do the same with her three children: a toddler daughter, a nearly 3-year-old son and her 4-year-old daughter.

“Everyone in my family has always been on the creative side. We do a lot of music. Everyone likes painting and talking about music and art and film. It’s very natural in our home. My husband is an architect so he loves art also,” she shares.

“My three children have been with me in the studio since they were born, which has been so beautiful and also very chaotic at the same time,” Wendelin says with a laugh. “Having my three children with me while I paint has sometimes been a struggle but it also has made me learn a lot, especially about finding balance between my love for creating and my love for my children.”

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It was just last month that Wendelin’s oldest informed her she had her own art project in mind.

“So she grabbed her little chair and she was so excited. She started painting and I set up the camera in the beginning because I just love sharing everything she does with my family. I usually share it, only privately, but once the painting was done and I showed my husband the video of her, we were both very emotional and excited.”

The colorful painting wasn’t just cute and random: There’s a method to everything the young artist put on the canvas, as she explained to Wendelin when she gifted her the finished product.

“What we love to do when we paint together is that I ask her about the story because I think that boosts their creativity. She always has this whole story going on,” she shares.

“I listen to her and try to guide her because she does ask me about what I think. I try to just give suggestions unless she really insists, and then I’ll give her a little bit of a guideline. I’ll suggest we put color everywhere or try different shades of the same color.”

She continues, “And like any kid, at some point she’ll lose interest. She’ll go run to the kitchen to grab a cookie or tell me, ‘Mom, I don’t want to paint anymore today.’ So we’ll take a break and I go back to painting. Sometimes she’ll watch me or she’ll just sit around the studio. If she feels creative again while she’s there, she’ll pick up a brush.”

The experience of her kids interacting with art has also changed the way the busy mom looks at having them in the studio with her.

“I guess what has changed the most in my art since getting my children into the studio is I’ve had to learn to let go of many things. I used to be a perfectionist with everything in art and life and after becoming a mother, I’ve just had to learn to find that certain beauty in not being perfect and not doing everything perfectly,” she shares.

Caroline’s daughter beginning her painting.Caroline Wendelin/Instagram

Wendelin’s daughter finished her big work of art in just about a day, sketching out her design before she started to paint, just like her mom does.

“I decided to share it on Instagram, but I don’t show her face in this or any videos. I’ve chosen to protect her privacy in that way. I just thought the painting was very beautiful and I wanted to share it and I see it resonated with a lot of people,” the proud mom shares.

Caroline Wendelin’s daughter works on her painting.Caroline Wendelin/Instagram

“I’ve told her that there are many people saying how beautiful her painting was and she got very, very happy about that. She asked me like, ‘Who told you that?’ Well, 8 million people told me,” the mom adds.

“I’ve even gotten messages about people wanting to buy this particular painting, but it’s not for sale. She wanted it to be for me.”

When she’s not painting, the 4-year-old loves spending time in nature with her family and experimenting in the kitchen.

Caroline’s daughter’s nearly complete painting.Caroline Wendelin/Instagram

“We live in the south of Spain so we’re very lucky with the weather here. We go out into nature and do picnics. She’ll take toys and tell them stories while we’re out. She’s a very creative little girl. Of course, she also loves playing with her siblings.”

Wendelin says that ever since she posted the video, parents have been asking for her advice about getting their kids in touch with their creative sides.

“What I tell most of them is to make sure you use washable paint because it’s going to get messy,” she says with a chuckle. “And join them when they’re painting! Many kids will lose interest after a while, but we’re their role models when they’re this young. I love staying with my daughter while she paints and I think that boosts her creativity too.”

“Also, make sure you display everything they make,” she adds. “Hanging it all around shows them that we’re very proud of them. It boosts their confidence and they get some recognition.”

source: people.com