Mom Turns Her 3-Year-Old's Drawings into Incredible Art

Many parents hope their kids develop an interest in areas like debate, science or software design. But Canada-based painter Ruth Oosterman wanted her daughter Eve to love art as much as she did -- so much so that she made her own creative process a very familiar part of 3-year-old Eve’s life.

“When Eve was an infant, I would strap her onto me as I painted,” Oosterman told The Huffington Post. “Before I became a mother, I always knew that I wanted to share my passion for the arts with my child, perhaps even collaborate with them, but didn’t think it would be possible until they were much older.”

Thankfully Eve showed tremendous artistic interest, and at the age of 2 -- or, as Oosterman put it, “as soon as she could grasp a crayon” -- their partnership began.

Yet, their artistic alliance wasn’t exactly planned out. Like many creative projects, it just kind of happened.

“Our first real collaboration, ‘The Red Boat,’ was a fluke,”Oosterman recalled. “Eve and I were already spending hours painting together, but there was just something about this particular piece she had created. It was the first time my 2-year-old seemed to draw specific figures and I could see a picture forming in my mind and went with it.”

That is, with Eve’s permission, of course.

After "The Red Boat" took sail, so did their creative partnership.

Oosterman would give her girl a black brush pen to begin the piece, and she would finish it off with watercolors and themes that Eve suggested.

Now that the two have been working together for a year, the process has changed slightly. Now both mom and daughter start by painting simultaneously together as they discuss the piece. “Eve will either find a sketch of mine she likes and we will paint that together, or she will give me one of her paintings to create something entirely new with,” said Oosterman.

Oosterman also stressed that she gives her daughter complete artistic license and allows her to work however she wants.

“I make sure to let her paint until she decides she is finished and, after the piece dries, I return to fine-tune, adding details and shading," the artist said.

The pieces are usually done within a day, with Eve creating about two to six paintings then eagerly handing a few special ones she wants to use for collaboration to her mom. “Although, recently, it seems she prefers to get her hands on my sketches and use those to collaborate and paint simultaneously,” said Oosterman.

One of Oosterman’s favorite pieces is “Adrift,” because it reminds her how much her and Eve have grown together creatively.

Yet Eve has her personal preference when it comes to their combined art. “She has often said her favorite is ‘A Bookworm’s Dream,’" Oosterman noted.

Although prints of all their works can be found at Oosterman’s Etsy store, Eve’s Imagination -- where they sell between $17 and $35 -- it isn’t money or attention that makes this mom want to paint with her kid.

“She can now discuss with me as we paint [the art] and let me know why she is using certain colors,” said Oosterman. “These conversations are why I paint with her. The end product is never the goal, but the journey I get to experience with her.”

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