Art show redux

Grady had his first solo art show last Friday afternoon and he's been riding the high ever since.

First boutonniere gifted from Jill D. & Scott V.

He has been diligently drawing, illustrating and painting for the last year and a half.  This was his chance to share all of his hard work, receive feedback and earn a little Lego money.

Ikea frames & original works

He named each piece, selected the frames and priced all of the artwork himself.  There was only one piece of art he didn't want to part with (his very first acrylic) and so we posted an "NFS" sticker on Planet Frog and it came home with us.  He even had pre-sale orders and that was really encouraging to the little artist.

Kai Samuels-Davis is an extremely talented working artist. We met him a few summers ago at his gallery show at West County Design in Valley Ford.  I fell in love with his work and asked to visit his studio with Grady and a few friends.  Grady immediately liked Kai and was impressed with his studio space coupled with the fact that he wore really cool paint-splattered pants (for real).  When Kai offered to teach Grady as a private student, it reinforced my son's artistic path and allowed him to develop new methods and expand his skill set.  After his first lesson, G said "I didn't know men could do art!"  Of course, G had only had female teachers at that time and so this was a revelation for him.  The weekly one-hour lessons were a treat and something he really looked forward to.  Kai has been a wonderful mentor to our son and given him complete and total artistic freedom, while guiding and teaching him valuable skills, techniques and the appreciation for good quality art supplies.  

G's prolific production of his own Manga-inspired trading cards 

As the show date was approaching, G started to get nervous.  He called Kai a few nights before the show and shared his feelings and concerns.  What if he couldn't remember how long it took him to paint one of his pieces?   That was the main concern for our little artist.  Kai talked to him over the phone, shared past experiences with him and set him at ease.

Interior designer & blogger, Irene Turner shared the above images with us

When the big day arrived, G changed his mind on what he wanted to wear several times.  He ended up wearing his "painting pants" and his new favorite hat.  The place turned into a mob scene shortly after the doors opened and was bustling with positive energy.

Watercolors

The original watercolors went to good homes, but we had several print orders for the Belted Galloways in Pasture, Invisible World, Gurtrude & Molly.

Fish on Paper (watercolor)

The hot item of the evening was Fish on Paper and it was sold within minutes.  We are still receiving orders for prints of this one!  (It was part of an object study that Grady worked on with Kai earlier this year, wherein G would take small objects to his lessons and then set about painting them under Kai's watchful eye).  Grady quickly set about placing red dot stickers on sold items and chatted with prospective art buyers.  He conducted himself professionally and had all the answers he had worried would escape him.

Proud Father & Son

Our dear friends who own the Valley Ford Hotel, Rocker Oysterfeller's & the Sonoma Coast Fish Bank graciously provided the venue and then catered the event (because they also own Firefly Catering) with kid-friendly nosh & beverages.  It was absolutely perfect.  We have the best friends.  Have I said that before?  Well, it's true.

He had such an amazing turnout for his first solo show. The crowd was an eclectic mix of fellow artists, neighbors, former teachers, family and friends.  We felt hugged by our community and it felt good.  

After the show, our attentions turned to the art studio and it is slowly transforming into a usable space.  I did a bit of cosmetic painting over the weekend, Steve added some electrical and G potted some plants for the deck.  Will share the reveal in a future post, but it's definitely coming along and will be a lovely space to create art in, as well as a holding tank for all things crafty.

Llama pasture outing with Gigi

One of the biggest highlights of last week was the arrival of the grandparents.  My mom flew in from Arizona and Steve's dad drove up from Southern California (with chocolate chip cookies in tow) to be here for the art show.  This meant so much to us, but more so to the boy.  It's really cool to see our parents show so much love for our little man and create these sweet memories with him.  McGyver (my nickname for Steve's dad) made his world-famous Hecht Chili beans and my mom busted out her homemade salsa & tortilla chips for the after-party at our house.  We definitely have parents that know how to cook!

Steve and his dad spent the weekend in Bodega Bay and G tagged along for a guys' night.  I just love that the three of them had time alone together.  They went for a hike on Bodega Head, stopping to draw a few landscapes and climb trees.

November day at Bodega Head w/ Popo

My mom was delighted to be here for a week and share in all things Grady.  They had a special all day date that included going to the movies, climbing trees, feeding llamas, playing baseball, reading books and making his favorite, slightly burnt grilled cheese sandwich.  Oh, and a pack of Skittles was involved, too.  Always.

On her last night here, we had breakfast for dinner as a special treat.  I used to love that when I was a kid.  G also wanted to sleep with her and I just adore the pictures I snapped before they crawled out of bed.  There is nothing better than a warm, sleepy face waking up next to you.  Nothing.

G loves this new photo app on my phone

The week was full and memorable.  Heck, every week is - but this one will go down in the record books.

When I asked G if he wanted to do another art show, he answered with a nonchalant "Yeah, probably.  Maybe in a year."


Perhaps the grandparents will be back same time, next year.  I hope so.