As the summer nears its end, Injy El-Kashef shares in a different sort of beach fun There is something truly wonderful about sitting down to paint -- and, what is more, in the open air -- right by the swimming pool, in fact, in the company of 61 participants aged between three and 60 years. The invitation that remained posted for about a month at the pool-side announcement board of the Northern Coast's CD Beach (Diplomats' Village) had been scripted in no uncertain terms: "Painting festival for all ages ... under the supervision of prominent Alexandrine artist Esmat Dawestashy." Organised by Ambassador Yousri El Kouedi, himself an accomplished painter with several public exhibitions to his name, the highly successful event served to demonstrate just how much talent can be extracted out of unaware holiday-makers, if they are only given a brush and some colours to splash out. Although the announcement had specified that participation was the only requirement, at no cost whatsoever, only about eight participants had enlisted their names. Yet on the day, dozens found themselves edging their way to the designated spot, where they sat on the white benches under the striped umbrellas to join in the fun. "Children encouraged each other, more and more joining out of curiosity when they saw how pressure-free the atmosphere was," recounts El Kouedi. At a cost of LE400, 50 rolls of paper had been purchased to create 100 individual sheets, along with 10 packets of 12 different- sized brushes each, and a substantial quantity of basic acrylic colours including yellow, red, green, blue, brown, black and white. "For children, painting is actually part and parcel of their innate drive to explore; it is integrated in the fabric of play and the instinct of curiosity," explains Dawestashy, who moved from table to table, suggesting a line here, a colour there, urging the kids not to leave an inch of paper unpainted. Working with the younger generation of amateurs is in fact no terra incognita for him, as every Tuesday of his week is dedicated to children's workshops at the Alexandria Atelier. In his Bermudas and patterned shirt, a twinkle sparkling in his focussed eye, Dawestashy actually spent a good eight hours on his feet, threading his way between tables to encourage both the children and their parents. "No one needs to draw or paint in a certain way; if you hold a brush and just express what you feel in colour, you can be certain that the result will yield a creative and highly individual originality that makes no effort like the other," he stresses. Near the large bucket of water placed for rinsing, participants exchanged jokes, extended help to each other and compared notes. The festive atmosphere seemed to draw in more holiday- makers by the hour. "I knew the kids would have a blast, especially in this setting, but it was seeing the grown-ups join in that was the pleasant surprise," notes El Kouedi. Indeed, some tables were occupied by entire families, all sharing the colours and the joy to produce some striking results. There was definitely something un-inhibiting, liberating almost, in the ambience of the event. The air was relatively quiet, concentration was intense, yet without any sense of obligation to perform or pressure to compete marring the abandon with which the participants colourfully indulged themselves. Towards the end of the day, a couple of hours before sunset, the works were hung on the fence around the swimming pool for public display -- the children's first ever exhibition. Idlers strolling down the promenade of the beach, on their daily late-afternoon walks, gathered around the paintings, only to realise how much talent had actually poured out onto the sheets. The expressions on their faces were of sheer delight. As for the participating children who had spent the post-festival hours in the pool, they stood amazed at the work of their own hands, a mixture of pride and bewilderment shining on their faces. "The results are simply wonderful," rejoiced Dawestashy as he and Ambassador El Kouedi prepared the small podium from whence they were to announce the names of those who had taken part, in the ceremony marking the closure of the event. The ultimate purpose of the festival, explains El Kouedi, is educational and psychological; "we want to encourage children to further explore their talents, and realise how beautiful their work can be, so that they continue to do more. A competition with winners would have made the rest feel like they lost, and we wanted everyone to win, simply because everyone really won," he elaborates. To this end, certificates of merit with the CD Beach's logo had been printed, and symbolic "prizes" purchased for distribution to every participating child. Although the paintings were good enough to exhibit at any good atelier in town, "What was being honoured was the effort, not the outcome," he adds. In their bathing suits and flip-flops, their young bodies still streaming with pool water, the kids gathered at the cafeteria, some sitting on the fence, others cross-legged on the floor, some licking a melting ice-cream cone, others bickering over a Spiderman water-board. Parents, whose faces glowed with enthusiasm, held their cameras in stand-by, clicking frantically once their children's names were pronounced through the loud speaker. Encouragement is truly crucial in bringing forth a child's artistic abilities. Yet, warns Dawestashy, on the authority of his long experience in working with children, the last thing to do is to tell the child to paint. The subtler the encouragement, in fact, the surer the results as parents, ignorantly and despite their best intentions, can actually kill a child's will to approach painting forever by making him or her feel that they are prompted to engage in it. "Buying children painting material and leaving it lying at their disposal without a word will work far better than actually telling them to paint. Better still, the mere sight of a parent engrossed in the act will often attract the child to join right in. Influence comes from example," asserts Dawestashy. And as the school year approaches and art classes will soon be on the agenda, the artist took the opportunity to explain that drawing or painting should actually be a natural occurrence within the household, comparable to listening to music. "So many people have talent, adults and children alike. What they lack is the courage to explore it, under the false understanding that it must be done in a specific way, according to certain guidelines. This is simply not the case. Everyone likes to draw lines and use colours, and all that is needed is the awareness that only professionals must be guided by knowledge of the schools and trends -- amateurs need only the feeling and the courage," the Alexandrine artist urges. It is only when the child enters adolescence and expresses a wish to pursue painting as more than a hobby that academic knowledge of the history and artistic school should be sought, he proceeds, for this is the first phase in which an amateur begins contemplating turning into a professional. But until then, the necessity for formal learning will only be a notion that inhibits the child and possibly prematurely terminate their artistic inclination. Insistent requests for a repeat of the festival next summer left Ambassador El Kouedi chuckling with a promising positivism discernible in his reluctant answer. "It seems easy, but it actually takes quite an effort to set up. And remember that acrylics, which are optimum for attracting children due to their bright colours, are near impossible to remove as soon as they dry. I will need more help in the future if I am to do it again," he cautions. Indeed, although the children were on their best behaviour, the ambassador was keen to wipe out any paint smudges from the tables and chairs as soon as they were formed, aided by a few helping hands who volunteered to assist in making the event a spotless affair. Down by the pool-side on that summer day, applause rang highest for the smallest participant, a little three-year-old girl who flitted towards the podium, pig tales bouncing, to the delight of the assembled party. Dawestashy could not resist kissing her little hand as he presented her certificate of merit and a small set of water colours for more paintings to come.
