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Three budding artists from Community High School District 218 recently had the chance to show their artistic passion at a classy coffee shop.

Part of the Adult Transition Program for special education students, the three showed their paintings at Espresso Palette in Chicago Ridge during a recent afternoon that included a performance by the Eisenhower High School Mariachi Band. The program serves students who graduate from the district’s Eisenhower High School, Shepard High School and Richards High School until they are 22.

Parents, school staff and others packed the coffee shop for the celebration, and most of the artists’ paintings had sold by the end of the afternoon.

Jason Milne, 19, of Blue Island, one of the artists, said he loves scanning the outdoors for scenes to paint. Some of his favorites are forests, lakes and mountains

“I like the small details, the fog on this painting,” Milne said at the event, pointing to a work called “Moonlit Woods.” The painting depicts a river and trees without leaves.

“I originally planned on putting leaves on the trees but since I was making this around the fall, I liked the eerie vibe it was conveying,” he said. “I added some ominous clouds that I made with the fan brush and a thick layer of fog in the back to add to the spooky atmosphere.”

Michael Lagunas, 19, of Alsip has loved art for as long as he can remember and considers it his “biggest hobby.” He created a piece called “Alone with Nature” for an old friend, painted with different shades of blue to show the setting sky and light orange for the sun.

“My biggest supporters in life have helped me gain confidence in building a business out of my artwork,” he said.

For Alejandro Garcia-Gonzalez, 19, of Robbins, it’s all about reaching an audience.

“I want my audience to feel it’s summer already and they’re there having fun,” he said. “All these arts have feelings to me and I want them (the audience) to have feelings.”

Alejandro described in detail the color paints he used in his piece called “Wolver Island.”

“I wanted my audience to share my adoration for the peacefulness of nature,” he said.

Tim Dougherty, their teacher, looked on with pride as they showed off their art.

“They’re all very nice, hardworking young men,” said Dougherty. “They’ve really taken their artwork to a new level. I’m not an artist so this is all their artwork. They’re self-taught.”

Dougherty said he had also encouraged the students to have the confidence to show their work and that “people would appreciate it.”

“You can really see their unique talents show through,” he said. “You know their hearts and souls went into each one.”

Sam Bovelli, who directs the ATP program, said the students worked hard and were excited about showing their work.

“One of the students even offered to teach me art,” he said.

Dustin Courtright, who owns the shop, said he was delighted to show the work. Courtright, a painter in his own right, said he wants to support local artists and shows their work regularly.

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” he said. “I’m honestly blown away.

“I didn’t know how talented and gracious these young adults really were.”

Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.