A red apple, a yellow banana, a green kiwi, a pink grapefruit, a red strawberry and an array of soft pastels to color with.  HEArt youth learned that a healthy diet is a colorful one! Students spent class trading each other for halves and quarters of a variety of colorful fruits to create a MMAP-style still life.  HEArt students got at least 2 of the 5 servings of fruit and veggies recommended per day, munching on a variety of colors to get important vitamins and minerals.

Jimmy, Zaid and Mayra with a colorful array

The garden mural at Costano comes to life with the opposite color layer.  With just a couple weeks of painting left, the students are enjoying the sunshine and painting away.  Our two wonderful Teen Art Instructors, Troy and Zaid, help guide students through the mural process.

Inspired by the “SOUL” of the last mural, a new crew of Costano students gets the chance to learn the art of mural painting.  This time the mural will be exclusively acrylic painting and so the students are beginning again with basic color and design principles.  The class has already touched on still life, color theory, value drawing, and portraiture. We’re all excited to see what they come up with!

Showing off her Cezanne-style still life

HEArt of the City signs their signature at Costano with a beautiful, vibrant mural outside the music room.  The mural has some finishing touches left to make, but we are almost there!

The mural at Costano is coming to life!  Look how beautiful:

HEArt of the City laid the first strokes of paint on the music room wall at Costano!  On the inaugural day of painting, students continue to build their understanding of how inner peace and strength can help them make a positive impact on their community’s health.  Before getting to work in the mural, they discussed the VALUE of art and beauty in their lives.  The students then rotated through two workshops that reiterate how the physical act of art is calming and empowering.  In the first, students worked on charcoal drawings to practice creating VALUE, one of the key elements of mural design.  In the second, the students practiced their graffiti calisthenics before filling in the background sunset.

The beginnings of the graffiti mural

Value drawings

HEArt of the City is learning the calisthenics of graffiti – knees bent, arms outstretched.  Practicing the proper stance will help these students gain control and precision with the spray can.  Work on the music room mural begins next week.  BELIEVE it!

Believe

Graffiti stance