California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

Turf
Filler ad

Studio Contributes to Youth Education

Umi O. Studios and its “ArtSmart: The 2012 Preview” brought the Bay Area together with a night of fine dining, soulful sounds and exquisite art last Saturday in Downtown Oakland.

This night served as the studio’s first annual art show to raise money for ArtSmart, a Bay Area art education program for inner city youth.

“What I enjoyed most about the night was the support and appreciation not only for the art but also what the foundation stands for,” said leader of Umi O. Studios, Umi Grant.

Umi O. Studios is led by brothers Umi and Rob Grant as it strives to bring forth art that is current, relative and has the ability to evoke a newfound love for visual art.

The members of Umi O. Studios developed the ArtSmart program to serve as their outlet to give back to the community, especially its youth.

ArtSmart aims to bring a deeper awareness and appreciation of urban art to inner city communities by offering free classes and workshops for hundreds of interested students.

“ArtSmart: The 2012 Preview” provided guests a special opportunity to preview a variety of fine and custom art pieces to come in 2012.

All the art work was donated, courtesy of Umi O. Studios, with all of the proceeds going to their ArtSmart charity.

The atmosphere of the gallery was very welcoming, warm and relaxing. The artists were exceptionally friendly and very willing to discuss and describe the passion behind their artwork.

The hosts of the evening walked around offering guests complimentary champagne as well as a variety of appetizers, pastries and cookies courtesy of Oakland’s Z Bar and Café and Eva’s Kookies and Kake.

Rob Grant, who also goes by RG3, was the man behind the most popular art collection of the night.

RG3 holds a Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawaii and also has 20 years of art and design experience under his belt.

The portraits by RG3 were phenomenal and unique, whether done in pencil or oil paints.

From his Cal Football collection to his Jazz artist portraits, each art piece captured the ultimate essence, personality and emotion of his focal point.

His poignant use of color and dramatic eye for detail made each picture come to life.
If a picture says a thousand words, RG3’s portraits definitely have their own stories to tell.

When asked how it felt to see so many individuals admiring his art, RG3 said that he was, “Blessed to see so many years of hard work come to fruition.”

Another artist, Curtis Gould, was responsible for the custom made Umi O. Studios sand sculptures.

His craft focuses on creating one-of-a-kind candle centerpieces.
Each sculpture is designed within unique glass vases with each one themed to fit the scent of the candle.

Usually when you see candle pieces, it is the actual candle that serves as the focal point, but with such keen dedication and precision put into the scenery surrounding the candle, it almost blends into the background.
P. Lowe was the artist behind the very popular sports figurines. Each figurine is handcrafted and designed after the real “action” poses of famous athletes.
Lowe had a variety of different players from different NFL teams and he has already gained the admiration and support of some of these same athletes, as they have already started to purchase his work.

His ability to reenact the exact poses of these athletes with sheer definitiveness; from the expression on their faces and sweat dripping from their foreheads to the veins bulging from their arms and the mud on their shoes.

Aside from the mind blowing artwork, guests were also treated to the warmhearted sounds of Bay Area promoter Sammy Burns’ R&B singer Leilani, who sung a number of popular hits.

The night was well organized and seemingly very successfully.

With hopes of obtaining enough funding, Umi O. Studios plans to launch its ArtSmart program in April of 2012

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Pioneer Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Activate Search
California State University East Bay
Studio Contributes to Youth Education