Inside the Mind of an Artist
Sophomore Janiah Harnett's way of expression
By Nylah Van Putten, Staff Writer
December 7, 2021
Art has been a form of human expression for many, many years. People have painted famous events throughout history. Some people create art for fun and in their spare time. For NHS sophomore, Janiah Harnett, this is the case. She uses different forms of art to express herself.
"I prefer sketching and using a pencil because it's so easy to erase and go back and edit the piece as much as you want. Although, I do love painting” she said.
Art also requires a lot of inspiration. The setting and mood around the artist all navigate them towards what they want to draw. For some artists, it's about emotional inspiration, such as from a specific person or quote.
Harnett's inspiration comes from the men in her life.
"My dad, although, he is more of a musical artist and my brother, as well as Bob Ross, and there was an artist once that I saw whose work I loved. His work was based around African Americans and it really highlighted the beauty of dark skin and hair."
Now, there may be a lot of inspiration out there, but no amount can lead an artist to overlook the quality of their work. Artists are their own worst critics, as most people say. Many start over or retouch their work. Some find it so bad, they give up and never try again. Janiah would agree.
"I don't really show my work to anyone else. I definitely get in my own head a lot when it comes to my art. I erase a lot or start over and then later, I realize it was actually good. So, I am 100% my own worst critic because I think everything I do is bad when it's not. I wish I was better at drawing people mostly and using colors like colored pencils."
Some artists are also better at drawing one thing than another thing. Some are better at people, while others are better at scenery. Not every artist has born talent or natural skills. Most need to learn and acquire the skills manually. For Harnett, the skills seem to be natural.
"I am best at drawing scenery and objects rather than people, but, there are some facial features I do better. For example, I am really good at lips and eyes. I scribbled on a piece of paper as a challenge for myself and turned it into a car and then I have also turned scribbles into fish."
Creating also takes a lot out of an artist. The process of thinking up an idea, making it a reality, and grading it isn’t as simple as most people think. A lot of artists out there are perfectionists and try as hard as they can to make their creations spotless. Others are pretty loose with their thinking and jot down whatever comes to their mind at the moment. Harnett would say she a bit of a perfectionist.
“Sometimes it’s stressful because I think it’s horrible and I feel like it was a waste of time and I try to get it as perfect as possible. But, most of the time, it is relaxing. Sometimes I feel really inspired and I randomly want to make something and I think that's when I make the best work.”