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Petite Picasso

The person who invented the term "starving artist" obviously never met 14-year-old Alexandra Nechita. The Romanian-born painter, whose family moved to Southern California when she was only a year old, sold her first abstract painting when she was eight. These days, Alexandra's paintings sell for more money than many adults make in one year.

How did she do it? Alexandra says it's a combination of talent, opportunity, and a lot of help and support from her family.

Significant Talent

Alexandra happened into her life’s work much like any other child — through finger painting, coloring books, and drawings she made for her parents. "I think I spent a lot more time at it than other kids did," she remembers. "By the age of six, I was working with oils and I guess that's when it really started." At so young an age, she says, she didn't realize her talent or the significance of the passion she had for her work. "All I knew was that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life."

Her parents recognized her talent and enrolled her in her first art class when she was eight. "I didn’t like it much," she laughs. Alexandra quit after her art instructor flipped through the young artist’s sketchbook and called a meeting with her parents. "She suggested the best thing for me would be to let my work — my style — evolve on its own and I haven't taken an art
class since," she explains.

Alexandra had several more important firsts at the age of eight — her first exhibit at a Los Angeles-area library where she sold her first painting. "It was a symbol of a cactus with three fingers that I painted with human life to it," she remembers. The $50 she received went into her first bank account.

The Petite Picasso

Alexandra may not have realized it, but that first exhibit was a golden opportunity and, soon, everyone was raving about Alexandra’s work. Why? The art world and the media were stunned that someone so young could create works of art with the skill of masters like Pablo Picasso. As word spread, she was offered several more chances to exhibit. By the age of 10, Alexandra could brag of eight solo exhibits — a number most adult artists can’t claim — during which people lined up to buy her work.

Her paintings now sell for between $80,000 and $200,000 each, and books about her have been published in France and Japan. And, in 1996, she and journalist Charles Osgood co-authored a "coffee table" book about her work. All the money she receives goes straight into a trust fund that she plans to share with her four-year-old brother, Maximillian. Alexandra describes herself as "a true artist" in that she doesn't really care about the more practical side of earning money.

Traveling Artist

Alexandra does care about learning and about her family — two things closely intertwined. Her parents, Viorica and Niki, are more than willing to help further her talent, even if it means converting their family room into Alexandra’s studio, accompanying her to exhibits across the U.S., buying her a printing press, or taking her to France last summer for seven weeks to study printing and ceramics.

Their only demand is that she not neglect her schoolwork and Alexandra happily complies. She paints each day only after her homework is finished, studied printing techniques last year with a hired printer only on Saturdays, and tries to schedule exhibit openings and things like her France trip during the summer.

It sometimes gets a little hectic, she admits, especially at times like the beginning of September, when she arrived home from France less than a week before starting her first day as a high school freshman. Alexandra says she was so wrapped up in getting ready for school and seeing Maximillian again (he stayed home while Alexandra and her parents were in France), that she hasn't had time to paint. "This weekend," she says firmly. "I'm really going to get engulfed in painting again and I'm really looking forward to it."

First Love

Doesn't the hectic schedule get to her and make her want to skip working? "Painting is how I get energy," she explains. "I can't think of any occasion when I really didn't want to paint. Even if it's one sketch that only takes 10-15 minutes, at least I've done something."

Painting may be her first love, but Alexandra also loves the other perks associated with her "job." No matter where in the country her exhibits are, for example, Alexandra tries to attend each opening. "Honestly, I enjoy everything — even the traveling," she says. "Going to exhibits, sharing my work with others, explaining my work, and having it critiqued by others is so exciting."

As for the future, Alexandra says her painting and learning will never stop. "I guess the one thing I would like to do is get my work in museums," she says. "I also want to learn everything about art and try every medium."

If the next art form she tries is as stunning as her paintings, you can be sure even more people will be raving about Alexandra.