“I love how personal they are,” says customer Joceyln Herby. “My dog, Summit, has since passed away, but when I look at his painting, it’s him.” Photos: Gray Duck Art
Grannycore is picking up steam. Sometimes known as analog hobbies, activities and crafts typically associated with grandmothers are gaining popularity with folks who are interested in finding antidotes to screens—large and small—and the stressors of life.
The return to traditional hobbies (think: baking, canning, fiber arts, gardening, letter writing, painting and more) are providing a growing number of people a chance to unplug, rewire their minds and slow down. Ready to get started? Gray Duck Art, launched in 2017 by Maddy DePaul, offers paint-by-number sets, especially for pet lovers. Send in a photo of a pet, and the team creates a personalized paint-by-number kit.
DePaul recommends using natural light when taking submission photos. “Pictures with no shadows work best, but we can always work with whatever pictures you have and/or are your favorite,” she says. “A lot of customers do memorial paintings of their pet, so we try not to have super strict guidelines [for] photo submissions because sometimes people can’t go take new photos.”
While about 75 percent of the kit requests are for dogs, other pets are represented, as are some other unique asks, including kids’ stuffed animals. “We market our kits as paint-by-number kits of pets, but our artists can really do just about anything. If you purchase a pet kit and submit a photo of a tractor instead of your dog, great! We can make you a kit of your tractor.” A team of five artists hand-draws each kit. “Most people think that our kits are made by [artificial intelligence] or a computer program, and they are not,” DePaul says.
Kits come in 12×16-inch and 16×20-inch canvases with paint and brushes included. “The detail level of our paint-by-number kits varies slightly depending on the breed,” DePaul says. “For example, a multicolored brindle dog will have more detail because of its fur pattern than, say, a black [Labrador].”
Jocelyn Herby of Minnetonka originally ordered a kit of her dog, Summit. “When we brought a second dog, Leo, home, I needed to have his picture done too,” she says. Herby ordered another kit of Leo and other sets as Christmas presents for family, so they could paint them together.
While many customers paint on their own, DePaul offers group painting events around the area. (Back Channel Brewing Co., Spring Park, and Excelsior Brewing Company, Excelsior, have hosted events.) The events’ vibe is more “open workshop than a class,” she says. Participants receive a prepared canvas (from an image participants provided weeks earlier) and painting supplies. “I will be there to give some tips and tricks, but mainly it’s a hang-out, paint with a friend or relax and have a mindless introvert and paint day,” she says.
Wherever customers paint their kits, DePaul ensures that painting by number is not difficult. “I am trying to convince the world that people are actually creative,” she says. “I truly believe everyone has the ability to create an awesome painting, and paint by numbers meets people wherever they are in their painting journey.”
Gray Duck Art
Instagram: @grayduckart
