Homes on tour get artistic treatment

Senior Eilish Zachary didn’t know she was about to hand her painting of a house in Newport Beach to the chairwoman of Newport Harbor High School’s Home and Garden Tour.

A few minutes before the presentation, the Harbor student found out the two-story columned home she depicted in acrylic on canvas belonged to the event’s head official.

“I was really nervous about the project,” Eilish said, but “[Chairwoman Heidi Mendoza] was really gracious about it.”

Six students from Harbor had painted or sketched the six houses on the annual tour that raises money for the high school. Earlier this month the home tour’s organizers and three of the artists handed them out as thank-you gifts to the homeowners.

For sixteen years, Newport Harbor High School’s foundation has organized the home tour. This year’s tour of six homes starts May 16.

Last year’s tour raised about $114,000, said Diana Long, the foundation’s executive director.

For about a decade, students in Harbor art classes have practiced their craft by depicting the homes in works that are displayed during the tour and handed over to homeowners.

The student’s art work serves a dual purpose, Long said.

It involves them in fundraising for their school but also gets their artwork outside the classroom.

“I thought it was such a great opportunity,” said art teacher Alesandra Esquivel, whose class participated for the second time this year.

Giving students a hard deadline before their work is displayed in public with their name attached is a rare opportunity, she said.

“It’s definitely working on professional growth as a student and an artist,” she said.

All six works were well received by homeowners, students said.

“I was excited to do something new,” Junior Valentina Faubion said. “The homeowner was very excited.”

Where: Start at the Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop, 234 E 17th St., Costa Mesa

If You Go

What: Newport Harbor High School Home and Garden Tour

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 16

Cost: $65 tickets must be purchased in advance

Information: newportharborhometour.com or (949) 722-9473