Molly was interviewed by writer Roberta Floden for the most recent edition of the San Geronimo Valley Community Center’s publication, Stone Soup. Here it is:
Q&Artist: Molly Rea by Roberta Floden
Their home is a gallery. From floor to ceiling, in every room, an unimaginable number and kinds of works of art surround you. They’re not only by Molly, but also by members of her illustrious family, her friends, and of course, by Larry, a pen and ink graphics artist.
Q. Did you always want to be a painter?
A. No, not at all, even though I grew up in a family of artists and was surrounded by art throughout my early years. My grandfather, Rea Irvin, a legendary graphic artist, was the first art director of the New Yorker. He headed the magazine’s cartoon department and created its icon, “Eustace Tilley” along with hundreds of NewYorker covers. My mother, Virginia Irvin, was an illustrator for the SF Examiner, Seattle Times, Oregon Journal, KQED TV art department, as well as working as a freelance artist and teaching calligraphy.
Really, my being a single mother, I didn't have the time for art. Nor did I think I had the talent compared to other members of my family. That changed when I first moved to Fairfax. I threw myself into painting a large dragon on one of the walls for my kids. It kinda scared them, but it also started me painting.
Happily, I was befriended by my neighbors, Martha and Richard Shaw. Richard is a quite renowned trompe l’oeil ceramicist. If it hadn't been for him, I might not have ever gotten serious about painting. He inspired me to get my degree from San Francisco Institute of Arts.
Through him and Martha, I met Amazing Grace owners Judy Kaufman and John Pedersen, who in turn introduced me to a whole host of people playing Old Timey Music. Since I play the guitar, I now had a musical family along with my art family. And then along came Larry! He has been a huge influence and supportive person in my artistic journey.
Q. Your joyful painting in the 2025 Spring Art Show, “Amazing Grace: How Sweet the Sound,” brings together and joins your musical interests with your artistic talent.
A. I was inspired by the 1566 painting, “The Wedding Dance,” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It took me five years to paint. Like Bruegel’s work, it's a large painting of ordinary folks doing what makes them happy. In my painting, they’re all actually friends of mine, some still living and some dead, some neighbors and some friends from Amazing Grace Music. They’re all standing in a tree-filled courtyard -- musicians playing guitars, banjos, fiddles, mandolins and people dancing and clapping and having a good time. In the background is the old ‘70s Amazing Grace Music store that has since been torn down and replaced.
Just to name a few that are in the painting: Richard Shaw is one of the banjo players, and his wife, Martha, is dancing joyfully in front. Judy Kaufman is also on the banjo with her husband John Pedersen by her side playing the fiddle. Mike Hagstrom is on bass along with longtime Valley musician and artist Chuck Wiley on guitar. Larry is in the painting as well. He’s sitting under the tree. l’m in it, too. We’ve been gathering together like this and jamming old timey music for more than 25 years. The painting is now hanging in the Amazing Grace Store in San Anselmo.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. My painting is in “The Anthology of Unknown Music” at San Francisco’s Minnesota Street Project Gallery, which will be moving on to the Bolinas Museum this spring. In this year’s SGVCC Spring Art Show I’m submitting a portrait of a friend who has done work around our home. I took a photo of him on a ladder with the garden lit up with sunshine behind him and thought, I have to paint this.
I’m just finishing it. And, of course, I’ll continue painting portraits of people I know and love, along with animals -- art that you understand and identify with has been my life’s work.
Stone Soup, Spring edition 2026
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