The Joy of Painting

October 24, 2022

At Next Step To Success, we believe that all youth can succeed, want to succeed and deserve the opportunity to earn success. Every day our Success Stories, Norfolk youth, apply the concepts of grit, growth mindset, and learned optimism in our afterschool program. Painting is a creative way to explore all three concepts. The more they paint, the better they will get; and the more youth paint and use other forms of creative expression, they will build their problem-solving skills, find innovative outlets of stress relief, discover lifelong interests, and boost their self-esteem.

Last week, NSTS launched a five-part series in collaboration with Leaders for Tomorrow Youth Center and local professional artist, Chris Green. Under the topic of “paint your future self”, Norfolk youth explored their self-identity and who they will be professionally and what they will look like years from today. Under Chris’ guidance, youth launched into their initial sketches during the first part of the series and will move on to canvas work in the following weeks. We look forward to watching our local Picassos showcase their individual masterpieces as they spread their wings and discover how talented they truly are!