Youngsters taking part in a twice weekly mural-painting program over the summer include, from left, Christopher Holman, 13; Kombeh Ceesay, 13; Awa Ndiaye, 13; Binetow Keita-Diouf, 14, and Jeanne Alvarez, 12, all of Woonsocket.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

WOONSOCKET — Woonsocket Middle School student Jeanne Alvarez likes to draw people, houses and flowers. This summer, the 13-year-old got a job doing what she likes to do except she had to paint on a larger scale and on a building where everybody could see her work.

Alvarez was one of eight middle school and high school students between 11 and 15 chosen to participate in an eight-week mural program run by Neighborworks Blackstone River Valley.

Under the guidance of Lincoln artist Bonnie Lee Turner, the students used paint to transform a plain wood shed to a red barn with farm animals. Neighborworks provided a small stipend to students. The job, which required students to be to work on time, hand in time sheets and write descriptions of what they did, was meant to help students prepare for summer jobs in the future, according to Margaux Morisseau, community building director at Neighborworks.

The shed sits in the Constitution Hill neighborhood near affordable-housing apartments owned by Neighborworks. The mural program is called Constitution Hill and Heritage Place Youth RAP (Residence Assistance Program). It’s funded by Rhode Island Housing. The mural project is part of larger program that focuses on art, education and entrepreneurship. The goal of the program is to make sure children in low-income communities have access to a four-year college education.

In addition to painting, the students also attended financial fitness classes to learn how to be responsible with the money they earn.

With Turner’s help, the students learned the art of mural making. They prepared the barn for painting. They picked colors they wanted to use. Turner taught them how to mix colors and how to shade, Alvarez said. Turner drew the farm animals and had a small drawing for the students to follow as they painted, Alvarez said. Turner is president of The Art of Life, in Lincoln, a company that produces custom-designed, hand-painted murals.

It wasn’t always easy painting on a large scale, Alvarez said. “It was the first time I did a mural. I got to paint a cow and a horse. I was painting the horse for four weeks. We had to mix a lot of colors. We first did blue on the horse and brown. We had a picture we had to follow. I had to keep doing it over and over until I got a light gray and a dark gray.”

Alvarez said she liked working with Turner. “When we got frustrated with painting she would help us through it,” she said.

What did she learn? “I learned how to mix colors and that you can’t leave the brushes out in the sun,” she said.

Morisseau said that the response from neighbors was great.

“People kept coming out and saying it really looks great. We got a lot of compliments,” Alvarez said. “I would like to do this again.”

tpina@projo.com