In 2010, San Francisco's Catherine Clark Gallery held a group exhibition that explored the opinions of teenagers, titled "Teen Age: You Just Don't Understand." The show played on teen desires to express opinions. Often for the first time in a teenager's life, the world asks this of him in classrooms, at home and socially. Suggest that your teen create a painting based on his beliefs. For example, if he believes that college is unnecessary, encourage him to create a painting expressing that. Not only does this allow for expression, but it also promotes conversation between you and the teen, something often lacking in teenage-adult relationships.
Low-brow art, especially graffiti, is increasingly popular with young people. After all, a teenager wants to openly declare her independence; graffiti, an artistic claiming of territory, satisfies this need. Graffiti can be dangerous, however: As reported by the Boston Herald, 19-year-old Michael Sclamo Jr. died in a train accident while trying to graffiti an abandoned building. Instead of fighting your child's desire to graffiti the neighborhood, work with it, using the project as an opportunity to teach safety and appropriate behavior. Allow your child to spray-paint graffiti on a canvas, then photograph the final image. Use the image to make magnets, which the teenager can stick on various metal surfaces throughout school and town.
Self portraits allow you and your teen to explore self-image. Modern art theory suggests that, whether conscious of the process or not, every choice the teen makes while painting his image reflects some subconscious impression of self. After he paints, ask him questions about why he chose certain elements: For example, the use of a black background could symbolize isolation. Self-portraiture serves a dual purpose as well: It eventually helps the art-school aspirant with applications. Many schools, such as the Art Institute of Boston, look for self-portraits in the portfolios of fine art applicants.
The ability to control paint is a lifelong learning experience. For that reason, many artistic teens, especially those with sensitive temperaments,become frustrated when the actual outcome of a painting does not match the imagined outcome. Always treat teen painting projects as experiments with style and technique. It is less damaging to the sometimes fragile egos of artistic teenagers to think of work as a trial, rather than to think that all paintings must be masterpieces.