By request of some of my older art students, I am trying something new this summer. It’s a series of plein-air drawing and painting classes for teens on eight Mondays. We’ll focus on learning to draw from life and nature, by observing carefully and practicing basic and more advanced skills.

teen art wanderings course details:

1. Ages: for girls ages 13 and 14
2. Dates: June 12 – Aug 21 (with breaks) — see schedule below
3. Time/Day: Mondays 11am to 4pm gives us time to drive to our adventures, have a picnic lunch and plenty of time to make art.
4. Course is 8 sessions throughout the summer. Students must complete at least 6 sessions to keep the art kit at the end of the summer, and have the opportunity to participate in the Young Voices Art Exhibit during the school year.
5. Tuition & supplies: $320. Includes beverages and snacks. Students bring own brown bag lunch. Scholarships available. Please ask.
6. Transportation: students will be dropped off and picked up at 1+1=1 Gallery and will be transported by Maureen to wherever we are going that day.

Each of the 8 weeks we’ll go to a different place to draw or paint outdoors (unless it’s raining or snowing) click the pics below for details on that week’s fun:

In the Studio and Downtown Helena. Composition, Color and Drawing Basics. Lunch at the Parrot. (Start in the studio with overview of basics and mark-making. Then to the walking mall to practice what we learned. Lunch will be late, so make sure your girls have a healthy snack before they arrive.)

June 19 Boulder River: River & Mountain Landscapes. Drawing and mark-making with graphite sticks and ink pens. Picnic lunch at the river then spend our last hour soaking at Boulder Hotsprings.

June 26 Carousel and Reeder’s Alley: We’ll paint with watercolor pencils as well as ink pens and pastels. Picnic lunch then stop at Big Dipper for treats

July 10 Ten Mile Creek: Farmland, Botany Closeups & Skies using pencils and watercolors. Picnic lunch. If it’s hot we can dip in the creek!

July 17 Crystal Creek: Wildflowers, Flowing Water & Mountains. We’ll use pastels and watercolors. Flowers should be gorgeous this week! Picnic lunch and short hike.

Aug 7 Canyon Ferry Lake: Wetlands & Weather. Guest artist Kallie Audet will join us to show some of her acrylic painting techniques. Picnic lunch, plus treats at the Townsend A&W

Aug 14 Elkhorn Ghost Town: Artifacts & Buildings. Students may choose a medium they’ve used earlier this summer. Picnic lunch.

Aug 21 In-studio using reference photos to paint and draw with students’ choice of mediums.

Students get to keep their kit when they complete the course. We hope they become life-long creatives and art-lovers. We’ll make plans for the exhibit too!

What we’ll do:

Sketching, painting and a bit of photography

Things we’ll draw and paint:

Landscapes and close-ups; rivers, mountains, trees and grass; people, bugs and birds; natural scenes and city scenes; wildflowers and seedpods

mediums we’ll try:

Watercolors, water-soluble pencils, pastels, graphite and pencils, ink pens, mixed-media, acrylic paint, charcoal and collage.

Bonus Fun Thing:

This year will be our Third Annual Young Voices Art Exhibit at 1+1=1 Gallery (sometime during the school year.) All four of my teen adventurer-artists will be able to participate in the preparation for the exhibit, at no charge. (Students’ families pay for inexpensive frames.)