two girls hugging

Painting a Brighter World

What do two energetic, outgoing, eight-year-old twins do to pass the time? Paint, of course! Ava and Mala Prajapati not only love to paint, their natural ambition led them to create their own YouTube channel so they can teach other kids how to paint. In fact, they’ve channeled their inner Bob Ross to become Mini Bob and Ross—their on-screen personalities. The duo also created their own business, Color World, which debuted at the Acton Academy Children’s Business Fair where they won a trophy for Best Presentation.

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Edge: How did you both get started painting?

Mala: We started last summer after I got a painting set. Our dad used to paint, so he taught us as a hobby.

Ava: Then we got our own professional watercolor set.

Mala: Even when we go on vacation, our dad fills empty spice bottles with paint so we have them with us.

Edge: How did you come up with the idea to start a YouTube channel?

Ava: We wanted to share the painting techniques we’d learned by doing videos.

Mala: The intro to our video starts with Ava cloning herself so she has a friend to keep her company.

Ava: And then we liked the idea of a name after Bob Ross, so we came up with Mini Bob and Ross.

Edge: Which one is Bob, and which is Ross?

Ava: I’m Bob.

Mala: I’m Ross.

Edge: How did you start your business?

Mala: We like painting so much, we wanted to sell our art, so we started Color World. We had our first booth at the Acton Children’s Business Fair last fall.

Ava: We sold a lot of paintings! And we made $127. We also won an award for Best Presentation.

Edge: That’s fantastic! What is your favorite part about painting?

Mala: I like the shading technique with watercolors. My favorite thing to paint is the monkey.

Ava: My favorite thing to paint is a koala and the Royal Pink Lily that we photographed at Lauritzen Gardens.

Edge: What else do you enjoy doing when you’re not painting?

Ava: I like reading and writing.

Mala: I like math and art. And we both take piano, gymnastics, and coding.

Edge: How do the girls’ personalities complement each other?

Oliva Shakya: One may be having a bad day and the other steps up. Or when one may feel reluctant or scared to do something, the other will do it, or they talk to each other and manage to do it as a team.

Edge: What makes you most proud about what they do?

Oliva: Their ability to surprise us. Even when it’s something they’ve never done before, they do it a lot better than expected. With their YouTube videos—they make it look so easy.

Edge: What is your goal for Color World?

Ava: We want to use our business as a way to help create more homeless shelters, because not everyone has what we do.

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