Any interesting ideas for a very artistic Tween...

[Imzadi]

My 12 year old is extremely into drawing and she has some definite natural talent. I'd love to encourage it and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas...online programs, classes, contests, etc. I say contests because with artistic interests I'm finding there isn't as big of an opportunity to shine (like in sports).

OP, it's great that you are encouraging your DDs to make art. I have several suggestions. None of these are in any order of preference as she may like one better than the other.

YouTube tutorials! There are many, many GOOD/GREAT art tutorials now, ranging from rank beginner to advanced. Many artists & art teachers realized they can monetize their YouTube channels. They get money every time someone clicks on their videos. So the better they have to offer, the more clicks for them. There are many free-to-us lessons & tutorials, filled with great content & lessons. For different age groups. And on different subjects and materials.

The girls can watch & do a YouTube tutorial together, especially if you hook up the computer or tablet to the TV, so they can watch and follow along. stop & start the tutorials as needed, on a larger screen.

Here is a list for drawing:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=drawing+tutorial+for+kids
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=drawing+tutorial+for+beginners
There is also Zentangles. It is doodling that is easy then gets more elaborate with the more doodles one does:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zentangle+patterns+for+beginners

One of my favorite materials to work with is watercolor CRAYONS. DD can draw with them. Then take a Q-tip dabbed in a little water, or a paintbrush. She goes over some of the lines and drew and the lines turn into watercolor paint which she can blend together. Make sure you get Caran d'Ache Neocolor II. The TWO is important. as the Neocolor I isn't the same thing.

If they are interested in painting too, many people, have hosted painting parties with friends, family, parents & kids, to come over and all paint together and eat munchies (or drink) while watching these free painting tutorials. They also do LIVE tutorials, where one can comment and ask questions that can be answered in real time:

Angela Anderson:
https://www.youtube.com/user/angelafineart
Corresponding Facebook community group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thankfulart/
The Art Sherpa / Cinnamon Cooney:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy0-9vYn94d3i-_PZ3RJn2A

Corresponding Facebook community group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheArtSherpa/

Painting with Jane:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4Afe-CtYM5kp6FJEUPTFA

Corresponding Facebook community group:
https://www.facebook.com/PaintingWithJane/

Other Facebook groups:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtMonsterSquad/

Art Fun- Themed Painting Challenges:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/330784354014936/

There are probably groups for drawing challenges too.

Flora Bowley does "intuitive painting," in which she does a combo of free-form doodling with foam brushes, her FINGERS, (yes, adult finger painting!) and stencils & sponges, feathers, etc. She basically gives permission to play and use a LOT of colors.

Traci Bautista does her own style of doodles & painting in which she uses a variety of materials: acrylic paints, makers, spray paints, stencils, modeling pastes, to make colorful, free-form, abstract art and art journal pages:

Another recommendation, although a bit advanced for her is: Have a look around at the message boards at WetCanvas.com. It has been around forever and is one of the leading art forums/message boards online for beginners, amateurs, and professional artists. Produced by a very reputable art supply company, F+ W Media.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/index.php

Scroll down the list of different boards and she will find boards for different interests: Drawing & Sketching, Digital Art, The Learning Center to understand the basics of art. And different subject materials she may be interested in: as in colored pencil pastels, acrylic paints or oil paints, watercolors, markers, etc. Then there are the boards for different subject matter: florals, landscapes, animals, portraits, abstract, sci-fi, art journals, etc.
When you have a question about what materials to use, how did they get that effect, etc., you can post some questions for DD.

Some of the different boards do have their own monthly challenges/contests. A list of the previous floral ones are here:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499344
(These may be too advanced, but it gives you the idea, that they are out there. And DD can do her own version of the challenges, at her level. Like, pick a flower off Google Images that is easy for her to draw and set a time limit.)

 

[Imzadi]

Most community colleges and state universities will allow children to audit college classes for free, so long as they are not receiving any college credit for the course. Look into a few of these and see if there are some nice art classes she can be a part of. I think she will really enjoy them. Many are in the evenings as well.

Yes, look for "Continuing Education" classes. Those are the non-credit courses, that one can take in the evenings or weekends. Kids can probably attend for free or at a discounted rate if an adult goes with them. You might only need the instructor's permission.

There are many Paint Parties now. Different companies are:
Sip & Paint, Muse Paint Bar, Painting with a Twist. Check your local Groupon for discount coupons.

Adding to sources: museums, both art and natural history; historical societies, art supply stores, art student associations.

Yes, check the local museums, botanical gardens, landmarks for art workshops they may have.

Here's an "out-of-left-field" suggestion - take her to a comic book convention.

Comic Con in L.A. is HUGE. The one in NYC is not quite as big, but we aim to impress, too. We were of the first to go up the stairs:



The lobby area. Such a "small" turnout.

 

[Imzadi]

Another post of tips. I posted this here a while ago when another DIS mom, @lovetoscrap was interested in drawing supplies:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/art-supply-recommendations-needed.3466138/#post-54795590

 

[Imzadi]

Adding to sources: museums, both art and natural history

Did you know that the Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C. isn't just one building? Since I've always heard it referred to as THE Smithsonian, I thought it was one building. I was recently talking to someone from D.C. and she said it's actually 16 different museums & galleries. AND for D.C. residents, they are all FREE! I nearly keeled over when she said that. I'd be in one of them every day.

Here, we have to fight with the admission person at the Met Museum, explaining that we residents know the admission is by "DONATION" which means we do NOT HAVE to pay the full "suggested" price as they try to intimidate & force many people into doing.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Since I've always heard it referred to as THE Smithsonian, I thought it was one building. I was recently talking to someone from D.C. and she said it's actually 16 different museums & galleries. AND for D.C. residents, they are all FREE! I nearly keeled over when she said that. I'd be in one of them every day.

Not just DC residents. They are free, period:

Admission is free for all Smithsonian museums and the zoo in Washington, D.C., and the American Indian Museum's George Gustav Heye Center in New York. Tickets are not used for general admission with the exception of the African American History and Culture Museum; visit the museum's website for details.

A fee is required at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York (Members and children under age 12 are admitted free); visit the museum's website for details.

Washington, D.C. museums are open every day except December 25. For complete information on admission and hours go to Visit on this website or call 202-633-1000 (voice/tape).

(posted from - https://www.si.edu/faqs)

 

[Imzadi]

Not just DC residents. They are free, period:

For EVERYONE?!?

 

[NYCgrrl]

Did you know that the Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C. isn't just one building? Since I've always heard it referred to as THE Smithsonian, I thought it was one building. I was recently talking to someone from D.C. and she said it's actually 16 different museums & galleries. AND for D.C. residents, they are all FREE! I nearly keeled over when she said that. I'd be in one of them every day.

Here, we have to fight with the admission person at the Met Museum, explaining that we residents know the admission is by "DONATION" which means we do NOT HAVE to pay the full "suggested" price as they try to intimidate & force many people into doing.

PollyannaMom has the admission policy 100% right. It currently costs somewhere between $10.00 and $15.00 to visit the NY Cooper Hewitt, I think.

And did you know that the person responsible for the founding of the Smithsonian Institute was a French born, naturalised Englishman who never set foot in the US?!?

As for the Met, hullo, I know exactly what you mean! I used to take DGD to the Cloisters once or twice a month particularly during the winter and it reached a point that the regular door staff knew not to bother me, LOL. I finally told them we were members of the Met (which the Cloisters is part of) but saw no reason to pay again or prove it since we are NYC residents also and the law says we've already paid due to the subsidy received from the municipal government.

 

[5lilfish]

Thank you again for all the responses. Said 12 year old has been home sick with a stomach bug for the past 2 days (went back to school today), so I fell behind reading/responding.

Jess

 

[aprilchem]

Thanks, All.... We got both girls tablets with drawing software for their birthday. They got Copic Markers and artist colored pencils for Christmas. It was the 2nd year they had asked for the markers and I broke down....can't believe that I spent over $70 on markers (but at least with twins that's only $35 each...lol). I'll look into the universities this summer....and the other links you all shared.

FYI, if you have a Michael's near where you live, you can use their 50% off coupons on Copic markers. They're not excluded. My 12 year old son gets all his sets there!

Most community colleges and state universities will allow children to audit college classes for free, so long as they are not receiving any college credit for the course. Look into a few of these and see if there are some nice art classes she can be a part of. I think she will really enjoy them. Many are in the evenings as well.

I'm not sure this would work for a 12 year old, though. I'm a college professor and I have had people audit my classes, but I don't think my institution would allow anyone who is that young. The youngest I've ever had was 16.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

My DD15 is artistic as well (she drew my avatar picture freehand when she was about 8 years old) and has always been a pencil-sketcher more than anything else. It was always very difficult finding art classes for her because most of them were for 6-12 year olds and covered a wide range of "arts and crafts" like painting, using glue and beads and sequins, etc, making mobiles and other silly little kid projects. None of the local adult offerings would allow a child to participate due to liability and maturity of content.

While artistic, DD15 is not a crafter and had zero interest in "art projects". She used to struggle in art class as a kid because she had a vision for her projects that didn't always mesh with the teacher's directions (like, everyone must color this section blue, and use red for this part, place the colored stone here, etc), but after a while her art teacher would just let her do whatever she wanted because she recognized the talent and didn't want to hinder it.

We were able to convince a small studio in our town to offer a class for tweens who wanted to learn drawing technique and other advanced art concepts. DD went there for two summers between 6-7th and 7-8th grades. There were about 4-6 kids in her group, and they were able to work on whatever they wanted to at the time. DD has a knack for understanding movement in art and is great at capturing people/animals in action, and facial emotion. She really developed with these classes and her teacher was great at allowing the kids to get into their creative zones.

We live near Chicago and did look into the Art Institute, but it is very expensive and a hassle to get downtown every Saturday, so we never pursued it fully,

DD has entered into art shows and exhibits locally with her school and local galleries. She has won a few, and has been in the newspaper for an ad that she drew for a local business. She won a $100 prize for a middle school art contest, has designed t-shirts for a few different programs, and created the logo for a local youth sports team when she was in 7th grade that they still use! Two pieces of her art are framed and on the wall of her elementary school. Her art teachers in high school and middle school have been a great resource in finding exhibits and contests for her to consider - I have had very little luck finding anything on my own for her enter.

Good luck!

 

[PollyannaMom]

FYI, if you have a Michael's near where you live, you can use their 50% off coupons on Copic markers. They're not excluded. My 12 year old son gets all his sets there!

Good to know!

 

[moon]

https://www.udemy.com/the-ultimate-drawing-course-beginner-to-advanced/
I know it's expensive, but with coupons I've always paid less than $ 20 for Udemy courses. I think this is a great course

 

[BlueStarryHat]

When I was your daughter's age, my favorite aunt got me a secondhand drafting table, and I was able to draw and draw and draw while being able to properly see my work under good lighting, and it was way easier to draw on a tilt and (for me at least) easier than a traditional easel. You can get one at AC Moore, and if you download their app they usually have a 55% off coupon.

I work mainly in colored pencils, and I use Derwent Artist pencils. They are VERY pricey, about $150 bucks for a box of 72, but again, I got them at AC Moore and used a 55% off coupon. I have always used these since my parents bought them for me when I started at Creative and Performing Arts High School in Philly, and they really are wonderful. They come in so many colors and last a long time. I have some that I've had for years and are stubs, but they still work well.