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A Self-Taught Artist Brings Style and Passion to SRVHS
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By Shelby Falahat, Junior Reporter, SRVHS
Whether it be theater, drawing, dance, or music, art plays an enormous role in the lives of most San Ramon Valley High School students. In 2019, San Ramon Valley High showcased the arts by hosting art galleries, dance shows, choir concerts, and plays - all demonstrating the passion students hold for the Arts. Hence, in 2020, SRV hopes to expand the spotlight onto self-taught artists to provide them with a larger platform.
Skull, “I got the idea from one of the assignments the art classes had at SRV. I loved that level of Realism, so I wanted to try it with acrylics. Truly, it’s my favorite piece yet.”
Sahaana Anathan is a junior at San Ramon Valley High School who appreciates the realm of art. While balancing multiple Advanced Placement courses, Sahaana sets aside time in her busy schedule to fulfill her passion. In the sixth grade, she began developing her own style of art. As a young artist, drawing with graphite seemed to be the easiest tool to create realistic pieces. As a result, Sahaana began recreating artwork she admired while she pondered on how to execute her own “style” of art.
In middle school, Sahaana realized that she loved the concept of Realism. Realism is the ability of being able to portray even the smallest aspects of a person with great detail as well as accuracy. Young Sahaana found art in the eyes of Realism to be beautiful and inspiring, thus initiating her passion to begin creating pieces inspired by the concept. With this new concept in mind, Sahaana began drawing larger scaled portraits instead of whole body figures. She stated, “I personally feel that with zoomed in pieces, I’m able to include more details and spend more time on my portraits/pieces.” In addition, the concept of Realism allows for a variety of colors to be incorporated, making the piece come to life.
As a Freshman in high school, Sahaana began utilizing charcoal pencils, but she found that the pencils would smudge quite often. Hence, she recommends acrylic paints to new artists. In the summer of her sophomore year, Sahaana was gifted paints for the first time; specifically acrylic and watercolors. Sahaana revealed that she is still attempting to master the techniques of watercolor, and as a result, she prefers to use acrylic paints for her artwork.
Koi Fish, “The Koi Fish painting was a piece I constantly drew while I was improving my technique. It was the first real animal I drew and painted. The Koi Fish is such a gorgeous creature, so I knew that I had to paint it. This piece inspires me to create more painting where humans aren’t the main focus, but realistic wildlife is the star of the piece.”
An aspect of Sahaana’s talent that sets her apart is that she is a self taught artist. “For me personally, one thing I like about my art is that it’s self-taught: I haven’t taken any art classes that led into my style today, so it makes it that much more impactful when I see myself improving,” remarked the young artist. When asked about the inspiration of her pieces, Sahaana says that she always uses references with drawings, due to the fact that capturing the uniqueness of humans is challenging at times. Every face is different, so she finds it difficult to think of proportions, shapes, and the space between each human. The most significant challenge is distinguishing the differences of hair textures and styles. In art, Sahaana reveals that the actual paints make each piece unique as well as adds a personal touch.
Although Sahaana enjoys various forms of art, she mainly paints inspiring individuals who she admires. With every portrait she uses Realism to make each piece original and elaborate. By sharing her story, Sahaana hopes to provide aid to artists of all ages as they begin to fulfill their passion. Art spreads and brings joy to individuals from across the globe, and such a connection is what inspires Sahaana to further develop and improve her technique each day.
Shelby Falahat is a senior at San Ramon Valley High School. She loves writing as a tool to express herself as well as learn about the world around her. She also has a passion for working with children. Recently, Shelby has had the opportunity to work at Kumon, which has allowed her to teach young students math and reading. In addition, she loves to travel with her family across the globe.
