There is nary any macaroni or glitter glue in sight at the Kids Art Camp.

That’s because the focus is on fine art and developing knowledge of colour theory and portraiture, among other art concepts as opposed to the more crafty type of art.

Now in its third week, the Kids Art Camp participants are learning about textures and watercolours under the tutelage of instructor Samantha Corbett, who said during the morning session on Wednesday that it’s important for children to learn these things about art.

“I think it helps validate the sense that they’re artists, this is what real artists use and they start to see how their pictures are improving because they’re putting these to work and they’re saying ‘Hey, I’m an artist too and I know these things that real artists use’, so I think it’s very validating for them,” said Corbett.

The first week of the camp looked at doing portraits and gesture drawing, while the second week was dedicated to learning the colour wheel, primary and secondary colours and how colours work together.

Corbett said her students have adapted very well to the material and are very excited about learning the concepts.

“They’re all very willing and eager and looking for some insight into how they can approve their art, they’ve all grown for sure,” she said.

The camp, which is free for all the participants, is an initiative from the Peace Arts Gallery Society (PAGS) to help further arts education for the youth of Fort St. John.

“It’s so important,” said arts coordinator, Shar Coultry. “The kids have a great time giving their self-expression through art, it’s wonderful – no boundaries, so it’s just perfect.”

The camp is completely paid for through PAGS fundraising, which includes the annual Art Auction and the Chocolate Festival.

“We always say these fundraisers are for the kids, and they are,” said Coultry.

The Kids Art Camp has one more week at the North Peace Cultural Centre and will culminate with a showing of all the work the kids have created over the month-long camp. The show will take place in the mezzanine upstairs at the cultural centre on Aug. 23.