David Aswad is an artist who owns a profitable company in the apparel industry. Now that his daughter has gone to college, he wanted to share his passion for art with those less fortunate. Create Now worked with staff at L.A. Family Housing (LAFH), a homeless shelter in North Hollywood, to set up a Painting Workshop. Los Angeles is the Homeless Capital of the U.S., with over 88,000 people homeless on any night.

Like a chronic disease, it’s challenging to stop the cycle of homelessness, which impacts tens of thousands of local youth, because homeless kids experience higher rates of unemployment, lower educational attainment, incarceration, non-marital childbirth and other high-risk behaviors.

One solution is to help children and adults to connect better during stressful times, and to build their confidence and self-esteem with arts mentoring. Through David’s Painting Workshop, parents and their children are bonding as they discover hidden talents. They’re proud to share their artwork with the 60 families living at the shelter in an Art Show currently on display. This is David’s story:

Exploring Life Through Painting

by David Aswad

I've never taught before and have only been painting for my personal pleasure, but I found out about Create Now online and asked if there was some way I could use my experience and interest in painting to help out their organization in the art department. I explained that I had a little more free time now (being an empty nester), and had asked about their mentoring program.

Create Now referred me to LAFH, near my home, and the volunteer staff there wanted to start an art workshop. I thought it might be a great opportunity to help motivate and share with others who might or might not have had any experience in painting. I let them all know there was no need for any special talent to join, just an interest to try something new. Not having any real game plan, I just drew on my training at art school and the books I have to guide me.

For the past three months, I have been teaching a Painting Workshop at L.A. Family Housing. Every Saturday afternoon starting at 1:00 pm, there are around ten kids as young as 6 years old (and also their parents), who are learning about art through my classes. I am focusing right now on the basics of painting. We have covered a variety of topics that would be found in most professional art schools, such as using limited color palettes, value scales, and other various painting techniques.

We work from a reference piece that they pick out. I then provide them with another board lightly sketched out for them to copy. I usually begin by getting them familiar with mixing colors and painting properly with a brush. Most of these kids have never used a paintbrush before, so we start from there.

I am very hands on, and try to demonstrate for them so that they can actually see how to do it. I am a strong believer in discipline and I think their creativity can really be enhanced by learning a few basic principles. I let them know these are just exercises and that some things might not always turn out right, but not to get discouraged. They are always free to experiment and I strongly encourage that in their work. I also like to use the analogy that it’s not unlike learning to play a musical instrument. You need to learn the notes, before you can play a song. In painting, mixing the right color is like playing the right note.

I can see a lot of these kids have lacked any kind of formal discipline in their lives. That's why I thought it would be a good idea to give them a little structure. And I've found that if you make it enjoyable and not too difficult, they really welcome it. I routinely encourage them and give them praise, but I also point out what needs to be improved in their work. I am truly amazed at how hard working and devoted some of them are when they paint.

I wasn't too sure if this approach would work when I started, but I figured if they come back (and most have) it probably is working. Last Saturday we went on from 1:00 until almost 4:00 pm. So, as long as they stay motivated, I feel like I am accomplishing something. For them, I think, it is a time where they can forget for awhile the outside pressures and just experience the pleasure of learning and creating something themselves. We pretty much stay focused on painting though, so I can't really speak for them.

On a more personal level, I've found the workshop to be a very gratifying and rewarding experience. The preparation and work involved turned out to be a little more than I anticipated, but it has been a true labor of love. This workshop has given me a lot of satisfaction knowing I've been able to help others develop their own skills. Their interest and appreciation is really what has kept me going. Hopefully we can continue on and develop it even more. There are so many other areas I'd still like to explore with them. I’m very grateful to Create Now for helping me get this started!

“My mom painted a beautiful picture of me and it’s hanging over my bed." – Z’land, age 8

“Spending my Saturdays with David has been most fulfilling for me as an artist. He brings so much insight and inspiration. The art classes also brought my daughter and me together experiencing art and creativity in such an awesome environment! Thank you Create Now for sending artists like David to us!" – Bobbi, (Z’land’s mother)

“I like picking the colors." - Rebecca, age 6

“Art is a therapy and it’s definitely an advantage, a plus. I work together with my daughter since I home-school her, so this is like an extension for us." – Monica, (Rebecca’s mother)

“Thank you so much for sending Dave to us and providing us with such a wonderful opportunity to express ourselves creatively. I enjoy the art classes immensely and look forward to it every week. I’m sure all the participants feel the same. I hope to continue the class in hopes of fine tuning and enhancing my artistic abilities, and also the opportunity to relax my mind from the everyday stress. Thank you." – Anonymous parent

“Many of our residents don’t understand commitment and they are afraid of change. When they are in David’s painting class, it’s very therapeutic, refreshing and soothing. You can see it on their faces. The children’s parents here are lenient and they don’t have any structure, but David came with an agenda and it works. The kids are timid and don’t think they’re capable, but when they saw their artwork in the Art Show, it made their minds more open and positive. This class has made them willing to change. You’re getting the kids to paint and the kids are teaching their parents to do it. Their parents thought it was too late for them, but this is a new stage in their lives, which is helping them to keep going. It’s really amazing!" – Christian Burell, Program Coordinator, LAFH

Thanks to the LA County Arts Commission for supporting this workshop.