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Kiss frontman backs kid discouraged by art teacher: 'Your art is awesome'

"There is no such thing as doing art 'wrong,'" Stanley reminds 6-year-old Edie after a teacher supposedly makes a discouraging comment.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
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Abrar Al-Heeti
2 min read
Paul Stanley

Six-year-old Edie's biggest fan is kind of a big deal.

Getty Images

If there's one rule in art, it's that rules don't exist. That's something Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley had to remind people of on Wednesday night after a mother tweeted an image of her daughter Edie's painting that an art teacher apparently disapproved of.

"My 6-year-old daughter painted this amazing scene at an after school art club," the original tweet by Gemma Leighton reads. "Her art teacher told her she had done it wrong?! You can't do art wrong! She was so upset as art is her favourite thing to do. Can you please show Edie some support and like her painting?"

The tweet has over 143,000 likes and more than 15,000 comments as of this writing, as well as many replies supporting Edie and her work. "Edie" even trended on Twitter Thursday morning.  

"Gemma, show Edie this picture by the French artist, Raoul Dufy, and please tell her that her painting reminded me of his pictures," one response reads. "I would get Edie's picture made into a card or canvas print, or both, on Snapfish, and hang it in the house."

Others shared experiences they'd had with teachers who told them their work wasn't sufficient. "I had a prof tell me this in the second year of what I hoped would be my BFA. That was 1991, I was 21, I quit, and I've seldom lifted a brush since," one reply reads.

Perhaps the most high-profile support came from Stanley, who retweeted Leighton's post with a heartfelt message.

"Edie... Your art is AWESOME!!! There is no such thing as doing art 'wrong,'" Stanley wrote. "There are only teachers who are wrong'!!! Your art shows amazing freedom and spirit. How can that be 'wrong'?!?! Keep doing EXACTLY what you are doing. I LOVE it!!!"

Stanley's tweet has ushered in more support for the 6-year-old girl and her passion for art. Several people advised her to ignore any negativity and "do what makes you happy."

Unsurprisingly, people are also marveling at the attention Edie is getting from a musical legend.  

One reply on the Kiss frontman's tweet reads: "Edie is too young to know how fantastic it is that Paul Stanley just gave her props."

Maybe not. Leighton, Edie's mom, told CNET: "Safe to say Edie is definitely in the Kiss army now!"