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‘It’s fun art, not fine art’: Local artists partner with Spokane Parks for summer classes using Riverfront Park as inspiration

Artist Robyn Smith, shown with some of her whimsical paintings of Spokane scenes, will give lessons on painting Riverfront Park icons for a Spokane Parks class. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
Artist Robyn Smith, shown with some of her whimsical paintings of Spokane scenes, will give lessons on painting Riverfront Park icons for a Spokane Parks class. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Zak Curley ZakC@spokesman.com(509) 459-5473

The city of Spokane’s Parks Department is sponsoring two local artists to teach painting and sketching this month , using Riverfront Park as inspiration.

“It’s fun art, not fine art,” Robyn Smith said about the event, called “Art in the Park.”

Smith is one of two instructors brought on by Spokane Parks & Recreation for their new events that are focused around celebrating the beauty of Spokane and spreading artistic talent. Smith is a longtime Spokane resident, having moved to the city in the ’90s after her service in the Air Force at Fairchild.

She’s the owner of Robyn Smith Art Adventures and works in Spokane to help young people exercise their artistic passion. Smith is four art classes, in collaboration with Spokane’s Park & Recreation team to teach kids, ages 8 and older how to paint famous Riverfront Park attractions, including the Radio Flyer public art piece. Other sites including the U.S. Pavilion, the Numerica SkyRide gondolas and Sister Mary Turnbull’s Garbage Goat statue.

The four classes will take place Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Numerica Skate Ribbon, beginning this Wednesday and ending Aug. 2. Class sizes will be limited to 20 people per lesson. The different lessons cost $25 per person and will teach young artists how to work with water-based paints. Adults are welcome to attend.

“We all have an inner child inside of ourselves, anyways,” Smith said.

The other Art in the Park event hosted by Spokane’s Park and Recreation is a chance to work with Megan Perkins, a local artist with a portfolio full of drawings of Spokane and other locations around the Pacific Northwest. Two sessions will be held at the Riverfront Visitor Center from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday and again Aug. 16.

Participants will be asked to provide their own materials, including a sketchbook, paper for watercolors, paperclips, pencils and erasers. They may also bring pens, colored pencils, markers, watercolor pencils, water-soluble pens, watercolor sets and paper towels.

Perkins’ event will consist of a walking tour through the park, where she’ll teach students how to draw landmarks including the U.S. Pavilion. Participants may have their art featured alongside Perkins’ works within the city.

The cost to attend the class is $39 per person. Registration is available at the city’s website.

Perkins has taught her craft to new artists before. She has hosted classes at Spokane’s Art School for teenagers. More information about her can be found at meganperkinsart.com, where she posts class dates. Smith’s classes can be found at robynsmithartadventures.com.