The prestigious Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards recently unveiled its National Gold Medalists, recognizing exceptional young artists and writers from across the country. Pioneer High School senior Haneul Park is one of the eight national gold medalists for her art portfolio, “Reminiscing Korea.”
We asked Haneul, who plans to attend art school next year, about her work.
Can you share what personal connections or memories inspired your collection and how you aimed to capture the essence of Korean culture through your artwork?
I was inspired by the aesthetic of cities in Korea, I feel like there’s an entirely new vibe to them compared to cities in America. I had many fond memories of walking through the streets of Korea with my family that I wanted to illustrate. I also remember having meals at my grandmother’s house was another memory that inspired me. I tried to capture Korea in my artwork by drawing the unique architecture of the buildings and also aspects like people selling food on the streets, or my grandma cooking Korean food.
As a senior at Pioneer High School preparing to pursue art professionally, how has your artistic style evolved from when you first started creating art to developing this award-winning portfolio?
I remember when I first started making art I used to draw in more semi-realistic styles and used lots of watercolor paints. I think my style was limited to less detail back then because I didn’t take art as seriously, and I only drew on small pieces of sketchbook paper or printer paper. I became more serious about art in the summer of my sophomore year, and I started painting on canvas with acrylic for the first time. My style became more realistic, and even more so when I switched to oil paint soon after. In the summer of junior year, I also tried making ink drawings, and I experimented with different types of hatching and line weights. Overall, my style in both painting and ink-pen has become a lot more detailed and polished compared to when I started creating art.
What specific artistic techniques or mediums did you primarily use in “Reminiscing Korea”?
For each piece I started off with a pencil sketch and a ruler, drawing out the basic shapes and not going into too much detail. Then I’d go over the sketch with a kneaded eraser, to lighten the lines and make the pen easier to see later. After erasing, I’d go in with black pens of varying sizes to line everything, and add details. I’d also add shading by using techniques like cross-hatching or just hatching.
Being named one of eight national gold medalists is a significant achievement. What does this recognition mean to you personally?
Winning the gold medal has helped me see how other people see value in my art. As the person drawing the artwork, It’s hard for me to visualize how others would see my artwork and whether it would appeal to them or not. I am very grateful and happy to have received this award because it means many people like my art, and it gives me the confidence to keep pursuing art and further developing my skills. This award also will open a lot of new opportunities for me that weren’t available before, which I am very very thankful for.
How has your cultural background and family history influenced your artistic perspective, particularly in this portfolio that seems to deeply explore Korean identity?
My cultural background has mostly been influenced by American culture since I’ve lived my whole life in America. However, I still remember Korean culture from my visits during childhood and from traveling to Korea for a couple of weeks during the summer of sophomore year. When I visited Korea it seemed like the culture was very different from what I was used to, but I admired many parts of it. I think not knowing as much about Korean culture made me curious about it, and want to illustrate the culture through my artwork.
Were you inspired by any of your art teachers at Pioneer? If so, in what ways?
Ms. (Helen) Bunch was my teacher for many of my art classes, and I think her encouragement to have fun making art motivated and inspired me to draw more. She used to assign us sketchbook assignments with a prompt that we could interpret and draw in our sketchbooks and it made drawing fun. I always felt excited to do homework for her class.
What do you intend to do next year, and do you know what you’d like to do for a career?
Next year I’m planning on attending art college, and I will be majoring in illustration. I’m still not 100 percent sure of what I want my career to be, but I know I want a career that I know will make other people happy and have a positive, lasting impact. I think being a visual development artist really suits my interests so far, but I am still open to exploring more careers.
