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First Artwork Sold at Age 5

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Tristan is having an unbelievable year artistically.  Earlier this year I wrote about how the first poem he’d ever written at the age of four was published in a book, Homeland,  along with 200 other people of all ages across the United Kingdom. And now he’s had his first oil pastel artwork sold!

First art sale at age 5

Last month Cynthia, owner of  The Gallery, Whitehead opened up her conservatory gallery and each month is exhibiting the works of other artists.  The first exhibit had some work by a camera club friend of mine.  The second exhibit, however, was going to be one that Tristan will forever remember.  She had advertised that for 3 weeks during the month of October she would feature the works of children.

We took the opportunity for Tristan to have an art lesson with Daddy.  Phil had been getting up early and going for a bike ride in the mornings before leaving for work.  On occasion he would take photos on his mobile phone of the sunrises.  Phil and Tristan found a photo that they liked and used this one as inspiration.

Blackhead path sunrise, Whitehead, Northern Ireland, photo

Phil drew a rough outline on a piece of paper to show Tristan how to do a rough sketch of what he would be doing.  Tristan did the same on his own paper.  Then Phil gave Tristan some knowledge on how to use and blend the oil pastels he was using.  I don’t have photos of the process as I left the boys to have some time together for this special project, but Phil did take a photo.

Children working with oil pastels, using oil pastels, children's artwork, photo

Once the picture was done it was framed in the frame they had already shopped for earlier in the day.

The next day Tristan, Kallista and I walked to the gallery to pass the picture over to Cynthia.  At this point Tristan had to give the picture an official title.  He called it “Sunrise by The Lighthouse”.  He also had to set a price for it as it would be available for sale, just as all of the other art pieces in The Gallery are.  With some help he decided £10 was a fair price to ask for and Tristan left his picture behind in Cynthia’s care.  On the way there we stopped to take a photo of Tristan along the path where his picture was inspired from.

Tristan and the Blackhead Path, young Northern Irish artists, photo

On the opening day of the Children’s Exhibition we went to The Gallery as a family to see Tristan’s picture hanging on the wall with his name on a plaque below.  He was now a real artist!  Tristan was proud to see his picture up on the wall alongside the pictures of other talented children from the area.

Tristan's First picture in an art gallery, children and art, young artists, oil pastels, photo

When it came time to go pick up Tristan’s picture, I tried to prepare him that it may have sold, but he really wanted to bring it home again to hang it in his bedroom because he was so proud of his first oil pastel picture.  When we arrived, Cynthia said she had some good news for Tristan.  But when she broke the news to Tristan that his picture had sold, he dropped to his knees and shed a tear.   When Tristan composed himself it was time to get down to business and Tristan was paid his £10, minus the commission (he’s really in the big world of art now!).  The feel of the cash in his hands seemed to help his mood.

I had told Tristan previously that if his piece sold he would give Cynthia her commission, and he would have to pay Phil back for the price of the frame, and then he would have the rest of the money for himself to either reinvest or to save.  However, Phil was so impressed with the sale of the picture that he invested in his son and said Tristan didn’t have to pay him back for the cost of the frame.

Sunrise By The Lighthouse, oil pastel art, Crystal's Tiny Treasures, first artwork sold,photo

When he told Daddy that his painting had sold, he made sure to say that the next picture he did (he already has it planned) is going to be HIS OWN and will definitely hang on his bedroom wall!  Tristan held his cash tight until we were back home again, and he spent the rest of the day re-counting it over and over, and the next day he tried to make his own magic tricks with it by making the coins disappear.  He’s still enjoying magic, now if only he could make money APPEAR instead of disappear, we’d really have something!

I am glad that we took this opportunity when it arose to teach Tristan a new skill, and that it has worked out so well for him, even if he doesn’t see it that way at the moment.  He’s learned about oil pastels, art exhibitions, commissions, and economics.  I wonder what he’ll come with next?

What are your hidden talents, or those of your children, we’d love to hear!

Comments

  4. Wow! Way to go Tristan!! He did an outstanding job! Please continue to nurture that. You never know where it will take him!

  5. You have displayed a tremendous dose of what every parent should do! You explained the process of displaying his artwork, the possibility of it selling, having to pay the commission, AND having to pay for the frame! As a former teacher, I honestly wish more parents were like you! I pinned this to my “parenting” Pinterest board.

    • Thank you so much for your kind compliments 🙂 This is one of the bonuses of spending a lot of time with our children. They see what we do every day and ask questions and we try our best to answer them. We try to build on his interests and at the moment he’s interested in money. Counting money, asking how much this or that costs, how many pennies are in £3.49, etc. He’s also learning about behind the scenes jobs and what goes into a gallery and what the commission pays for. I think it’s more difficult to do in today’s society where things are paid by credit and debit cards and kids don’t see money exchanging hands to understand the value of it. I hope we come across more opportunities in the future for this kind of learning, it’s fun for all of us! (well, except the tears of disappointment, but even that is a part of life). Have a great week!

  6. Isn’t watching your kid learn art amazing? My daughter has been doing Young Rembrandt art classes after school once a week and where she was always drawing or coloring before, she has just taken off. I love to see it!

    • I’m so glad to hear your daughter is doing so well, Lacey 🙂 Art is one of the many things I liked to do, though I wasn’t so great at it, but I do remember a little here and there. I’m glad to have an arty hubby and friends Tristan can learn from.

  9. Wow!! Tristan’s piece is amazing! I really like how you took the time to teach him each step.of the process, nd also each aspect of the economics. We need more people teaching their children how to invest, save and spend wisely.

  11. Renee suggested you might be interested in a giveaway on her blog hop. I am Sherrill Cannon, an award-winning author (www.sherrillcannon.com). The interesting thing is that my newest book under contract for release in 2014 is My Fingerpaint Masterpiece, which is almost the story of your 5-yr-old!! Please let me know if you are interested!

  13. This is such a great post! My kids sell their crafts at craft sales 🙂 My oldest started by making and selling jewelry when she was 5 🙂 I love hearing of other children who are doing similar things! I will be sharing this on my Facebook page! Thank you for sharing!

    • I’ve read about your children selling their crafts, and it’s inspiring! I’m thinking we may have to take a page from your book next year. Thank you for sharing our post, and good luck to everyone in 2014 🙂

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