By their early teens, Dalí, Michelangelo, and Picasso had already dipped their toes into the world of dipping paint brushes. That same world has beckoned some young local artists, who've started painting as early as age 6. Their work is now featured in a new showcase at the Santa Maria Town Center.

Located across from the second floor entrance of Macy's, an endearing display of artworks created by young members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast is well worth the escalator ride for any mall visitor.

• Photos By Caleb Wiseblood
• MALL WALLS A showcase of artworks by Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mid Central Coast members, ranging from ages 6 to 15, is currently on display at the Santa Maria Town Center through Dec. 19.

"We have 11 clubs that participate—all the way from Paso Robles, Shandon, to Santa Maria, Guadalupe," said Anna Libbon, vice president of Club Success with the clubs' Mid Central Coast chapter and co-coordinator of its art exhibit.

On the morning of Dec. 14, a group of appointed judges will peruse the showcase and determine which pieces will move forward to the regional round of the 2023-24 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Arts Contest.

"There's a lot of competition," said Libbon, who's worked for the nonprofit for 33 years. "There's 5,000 Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the nation, so the competition is really stiff."

A reception will be held to celebrate the winners of the Mid Central Coast chapter's contest at the exhibit space on Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m. The show is slated to remain up through Dec. 19.

• Photos By Caleb Wiseblood
• WATERCOLOR FOR ELEPHANTS One of the featured watercolor pieces in the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast kids art exhibit in Santa Maria was created by Keaton, age 6, at the nonprofit's Atascadero site on Olmeda Avenue.

Since the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast encompasses cities in both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, the group has occasionally held two separate displays of contest participants' artworks, one in each county. This year, all the contest's featured artworks, created by competitors ranging from ages 6 to 15, are under one roof in Santa Maria.

"The mall's been wonderful, and throughout the years that I've done this they have allowed us to use a storefront at no charge," said Libbon, whose children are among past participants in the art contest.

"My kids are a lot older now, but when they were little, they participated," Libbon said. "I love art, and I think it's amazing for our youth to be able to go to the club and create art because that opportunity's not always available to them."

With support from Boys & Girls Club staffers Jeanette Blanco and Mary Bolton, Libbon assembled the nonprofit's latest art show from a collection of paintings, drawings, and other works created by kids during the organization's various art programs offered throughout the year at club spaces in Santa Maria, Guadalupe, Atascadero, Paso Robles, Creston, and Shandon.

• Photos By Caleb Wiseblood
• SINGULAR SHOWCASE Mayra, a 9-year-old member of the Mary Buren Club in Guadalupe, has a monochromatic drawing on display at this year's Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast showcase.

Artworks on display in the mall showcase were arranged according to age level and medium. Visitors of the pop-up exhibition can look forward to viewing a colorful assortment of pieces created with watercolor, pastel, and other approaches.

Libbon's personal favorite medium in the show is monochromatic drawing. Pieces by young artists in the exhibit who took this single-color route were brought to life by pencil, charcoal, or ink.

While the show features different sections based on the media, the contest's participants weren't limited to basing their works on specific themes or adhering to similar conceptual constraints, Libbon said. Subjects in the exhibit range from landscapes of abstract, otherworldly settings to down-to-earth portraits of wildlife.

"They can create anything they want," Libbon said. "We want them to just use their own imagination and be creative."

Unlike many other art showcases in cities along the Central Coast and elsewhere, there won't be a price tag attached to any of the pieces featured in the Boys & Girls Club of Mid Central Coast display.

"The kids want their artwork back," Libbon said, explaining that nothing in the show is for sale. "Even the ones we send to nationals that compete, we get those back so we can give them back to the children." Δ

Calendar Editor Caleb Wiseblood would pay through the nose for the whole lot. Outbid him at [email protected].