Harerta Teklu: Winner of JEMBER Art Competition

Last week, the JEMBER Art Competition ended with a bang when Harerta Teklu, an architecture student from Ethiopia, took the winning prize beating over 25+ contestants for his digital painting of JEMBER. His handle over anatomy, composition and color was especially celebrated by fans who shared his artwork all over social media. What’s even more impressive is that Harerta is a self-taught artist. I got a chance to talk to Hareta about his work and inspirations. Check out his interview below.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into art and why?

My back story is simple, actually. I’ve been sketching for as long as I remember. At school, not a single desk survived without me drawing all over it. It was just as a hobby back then. Eventually it grew on me, and now it’s one of my passions.

Through the years I have tried to explore different mediums like charcoal, colored pencil, watercolor and also some slightly different disciplines like 3D rendering and graphics design. My transition to digital art came about 7 months ago and I got used to it in a heartbeat. I remember spending the whole night on the first day rendering ever single eye lash because I could. Later, I discover this painterly style of visible brush strokes and I fell in love with it.

What are the inspirations behind your work?

The foremost one is expression. I believe however big an idea is, it doesn’t exist unless expressed in any form, be it a painting, photography or poetry. In addition, I’m fascinated by portraits and I’ve made a habit of depicting them.

What would you say is your favorite or most satisfying part about being an artist?

That’s easy! Learning. It gives me satisfaction whenever I learn a new knowledge or skill. I aim to create a loop where the more I learn the more I’m able to do. It fuels my motivation, and thus the cycle goes on.

What is the worst advice you were given?

Oh, the worst one I’ve had so far is “You’re never satisfied with your art so why not stop doing it entirely”. Funnily that advice actually came from me.

If you could choose one mentor in the entire industry, who would it be and why?

Oh wow, if only we could merge people. There are so many digital artists I look up to like Efflam Mercier, Yuri Shwedoff, Aaron Griffin, Craig Mullins, Loish … I could write a book. But if I had to choose one, I guess it’s Piotr Jablonski. I find his works so surreal and unique like I’ve seen nowhere. The way he uses colors in his narratives… God I wish this wasn’t a hypothetical question at all.

How can people find you and your work?

People can find me on instagram @harerta.t and on Telegram @atharerta.

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Beserat Debebe

Beserat Debebe is the founder of ETAN COMICS and the writer/creator of HAWI, JEMBER, and ZUFAN. He was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana University. His works have been nominated for Best Graphic Novel Awards, and featured on BBC, OkayAfrica, ComicsBeat, and more!