Youthful Artists Draw on Memories : Immigrants: A teacher helps his students preserve their Armenian heritage, and the result is a colorful art exhibit.

Displaying “a sweet sense of color,” paintings depicting America and Armenia through the eyes of 36 immigrant youths are now on display in Altadena.

The compliment comes from Aldo Novella, a writer and Glendale College instructor, after viewing “The World I See: The Art Exhibition of Armenian Youngsters of Los Angeles” at Altadena’s Beshgeturian Center.

Students of Armenian-born artist Samvel Sevada, who teaches painting, graphics and art history at his Glendale studio, created oils, pastels, acrylics and watercolors, 80 of which went on display Tuesday. Some of Sevada’s works are also on view.

After greeting 500 visitors during the exhibit’s opening Tuesday night, Sevada, 42, said his goal is to help young Armenian immigrants preserve their ethnic identity through art. He encourages the youngsters to focus on their homeland’s artistic traditions.

The students range in age from 8 to 17. Henry Dzhanazyan, 11, said one of his three paintings on display is of a chalkboard with flowers that he remembered from a school in Armenia.

“It’s fun” to be in the workshop, he said. “We get to learn lots of things.”

Christ Yeganian, 13, has four works in pastel and acrylic on display. One of them--a monster chasing a human--”shows the future,” he said. “I feel really good,” he said of his participation in the exhibit. “Now (the children in Armenia) can get everything and start painting.”

Novella called the artwork “reminiscent of Russian Impressionist painting,” with their imprecise forms and intense colors. “I have been touched by these youngsters’ sweet sense of color and portrayal,” he added.

The paintings are on sale at $100 each. Those that are sold will be replaced in the exhibition, Sevada said. The proceeds will be used to buy art supplies for the Children’s Art School in Gumri (formerly Leninakan) in Armenia, which, the artist said, is “a very famous traditional art city.” The school was damaged in the 1988 earthquake that killed up to 25,000 people.

Referring to his students, Sevada said, “My children told me, ‘We must help this school.’ ”

The artist said he lost 20 cousins in the huge quake.

“Children’s dynamic creations are the mirrors of the desires of adults,” he said. “In these mirrors, we can see reflections of our dreams, without adornment.”

Sevada, an art teacher in his hometown of Abovian before arriving in the United States in January, 1990, has had three exhibits in the Los Angeles area. Before immigrating, his works were exhibited several times in Armenia and Estonia, he said.

The Altadena show continues through 1 p.m. Thursday in the center, at 1901 N. Allen Ave. The next stop is Laguna Beach; then it will move to San Francisco, Fresno and Montreal, Quebec, before going to Armenia.