Alexandra Nechita

You might know her as “The Petite Picasso.” But Alexandra Nechita’s artistic accomplishments are anything but small, and her style is all her own.

Nechita’s family escaped communist Romania for the U.S. when she was 2 years old. At 7, Alexandra was painting with oils and acrylics, and her first exhibit was a solo show at a public library in Los Angeles, California, when she was just 8 years old. Now 22, she attracts crowds worldwide for her exhibitions and brings in thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars for her paintings.

Recently selected by the World Federation of United Nations Associations to lead a Global Arts Initiative, Nechita is expanding her reach to more than 100 countries. With very little formal training, she has more than achieved the financial security her family sought 20 years ago. She knew that her career had passed the point of child prodigy when people looked at her art and said, “That’s a Nechita.”

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live Video interview