Youth learn about art of spray-painting
“I really want to make art for people, so I think this would be a really good spot to start at.” Joseph Gudino, 12-year-old spray painting student
Joseph Gudino reached up to a board near the entrance of the Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark on Saturday morning and used yellow spray paint to make the top of the letter “J.”
That was one of the creations the 12-year-old made during the park's 2021 Winter Aerosol Paint Art Workshop, where young people could learn about spraypainting fundamentals for free.
The aim was to introduce kids to the art form, letting them get cans in their hands and feel comfortable using them. But it's also a community builder, allowing kids to know there's a place where they can go to spray-paint or just come by and visit.
Joseph, who spray-painted for the first time Saturday, said he learned different spraying techniques — using the paint sideways or upside down.
“I really want to make art for people, so I think this would be a really good spot to start at,” he said, adding that a lot of people like to go there to view the art.
The workshop began a few years ago, but it halted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in October, and Louis Moore, division manager of the city's Recreation and Wellness Division, said it “went really well.”
Instructor Steven Robinson said the lack of facilities and places where people can spraypaint or learn how to do so inspired the workshop.
“I'm in a whole different stage of my life as an artist, but growing up and getting into it, there were just no resources,” said Robinson, 29. “You either have to know somebody or you're in this little niche subculture.”
He said there are stereotypes with spray painting just as there are with skateboarding.
But having a “beautiful facility” such as the skatepark helps alleviate that, he said, giving kids a place to skate, have fun and learn about art.
Joseph's mom, Lauralee Gudino of East Aldine, said they'd been waiting since 2019 to be a part of the class — her son wasn't old enough before the pandemic hit.
Joseph, who has been drawing since he was 7, said he's interested in drawing faces and realism. He said it made him happy to have a place where people could legally spray-paint because you don't “get in trouble and it like really inspires people to do art.”
New Caney resident Melanie Gámez, 12, also participated in the workshop with her 11-year-old brother, Julian. She said she created right off the top of her head.
“My imagination runs wild while I'm doing these type of things,” she said.
Julian Gámez said he tried to make a zombie, shaded a “j” the instructor made and made an eye. Asked how he would use the skill, he said that if he had a house with a fence someday, he'd probably “spray-paint something on it.”
“Lots of people use it for like, when they don't have permission. … I would do it to my own house, to make it look cool,” he said.
Looking ahead, Robinson said it would be nice to have beginner, intermediate and expert levels for the workshop.
“Because with the aerosol workshop, you have murals that you can work on, you have commissions, you have personal stuff, canvas, I mean, and you can teach all the kids the steps from scratch of going to where to find these cans, to how to mix this paint, to color theory to how to grid a small picture and scale it to a wall,” he said. “There's just so much to teach.”