Art by Boneezy – Enlightenment, Inspiration, & Liberation
After discovering a love for art as a junior in high school, Bonee’ Harden began selling her art in 2020 during the pandemic. Now running her own art business, ‘Art by Boneezy,’ Harden creates artwork with a mission to enlighten, inspire, and liberate.
With what started as a hobby, Harden started her business at 17, shortly after creating her first painting.
“I went over to a friend’s house to braid hair. She paints, so she asked me if I wanted to go outside and paint,” she said. “I uploaded a pic of the piece I made to Facebook, and someone commented that same day that they wanted to buy it. So that’s how I sold my first piece.”
After that, whenever she shared a new painting, someone wanted to buy it. So Harden began selling them first come, first served. From there, the self-taught artist started expanding her business offerings.
“I started leading paint and sip parties, where people hired me for events to teach painting classes,” she said. Amid the fun she was having while working a job that made her happy while making good money, she also realized a purpose she fulfilled through her artwork.
“It came naturally to me. And I realized that I don’t see a lot of the type of art that I make, as far as people of color making it goes,” she said. “So I felt inspired to put my art out there to inspire change, enlighten, and liberate.”
Inspirations for Art by Boneezy
When creating her art, Bonee’ Harden gets inspiration from the vibe she feels while looking within herself.
“When finding inspiration, I think of what expresses who I am, the way I think, what I do, and what I want to paint,” she said. “My art is an extension of myself, my spirit, my people, my culture, who or what I am surrounded by, and what I’m a part of. My art also shows the true importance, vibe, power, and beauty for people of color.”
With her art reflecting an Afrocentric style, Harden also works towards capturing that beauty from a younger generation’s point of view of people of color’s true spiritual essence in today’s world. She desires to honor her culture and spirit by connecting with her people and those who look like her. Through this, she aligns her art with her spirituality and expresses concepts of spiritual awareness.
From these inspirations, Harden creates incredibly vibrant acrylic canvas paintings. She also incorporates 3-D textures, including artificial flowers and plants, grass moss, and rhinestones. In the future, she said she wishes to engage in other mediums, like oil painting.
Harden also shared how her art helps her with managing her mental health.
“It plays a big part in letting me sit within myself. I get to play an active part in healing myself when I paint. It’s very therapeutic,” she said. “I use different colors to express different emotions.”
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Harden’s Goals for Her Art Business
Looking towards the future, Harden said she plans to expand beyond her imagination by creating murals and interior decoration, like painting accent walls in people’s homes.
“Before I start doing that in people’s houses, I’m going to start at home by painting the bathroom and living room to get comfortable,” she explained. “Then I’ll move out into painting murals in the city and at people’s houses.”
In addition, Harden plans to grow her business by expanding her website, building her clientele, and participating in or hosting more events.
“I want to do more paint and sip events and even face painting, but I need some wheels first,” she said. “Once I get a car, I want to travel everywhere with my art, to different states, and eventually venture outside the US. I’d especially like to travel to Egypt, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Tokyo. ”
Lastly, she said a primary goal of hers is to get her artwork into certain films and TV shows for all to see.
Challenges Harden Faced with Starting ‘Art by Boneezy’
Harden faced several challenges throughout the process of starting her business. At just 20 years old, she’s accomplished a lot in that process.
“I’m a young adult, so I’m just coming into the game and figuring it all out,” she said. “I had to transition from working for other people to working for myself and my business and balance financial issues. And I used what I had available to figure out things like transportation and storage. I used to hand deliver or mail out my sold art pieces before setting up my online store.”
From physically vending at events like First Friday, Harden shared that she learned from the experience and improved every time she participated. In addition, Harden also shared that she needed to overcome the challenge of protecting her canvasses better.
“I live with my little nieces and nephews, so they’ve colored on my canvasses before,” she shared. “It’s hard keeping art around family, especially when you have a big family. I had to learn to protect it and actually kept it at a local radio station for a year.”
After participating in an art show hosted by Hot 702.5 FM in December 2022, the station offered to let Harden keep her art at the station.
Harden’s Favorite Things
Lastly, Harden shared a few of her favorite things about creating art and running an art business.
“When it comes to art, I love the freeness of it that I have now and the freedom of how I can make it,” she said. “For the business aspect, I love the creativity I can bring to it and the fun I have in the process, from packaging content to designing the website. I really enjoy designing, setting up, and styling things.”
#GetinMotion with Art by Boneezy
There are several ways to support Bonee’ Harden and her art business.
To buy an original Art by Boneezy piece, visit her website and browse her available art prints, keychains, and tote bags. To request a commission, message Harden directly via email (artbyboneezy@gmail.com), Instagram, or Facebook. And visit Art by Boneezy at the upcoming March First Friday Festival, where Harden is featured in the event’s Cindy Funkhouser space. The Hot 702.5 FM radio station is accompanying her that evening.
Please note! Due to the wind advisory, the First Friday Festival has been canceled for March 1st! The event has been rescheduled for March 8th!
This month’s festival celebrates the theme ‘ARTUOK?’ in honor of the First Friday Foundation’s upcoming annual ‘ARTUOK?’ event. The event, in which Art by Boneezy plans to conduct an art workshop, celebrates the importance of art and self-expression on mental health. [Read more about last year’s ‘ARTUOK?’ here.]
Later that evening, from 5 to 7 PM, Harden will also vend at a ‘Paint and Poetry’ event featuring local poets. The location will be determined, so follow Art by Boneezy for the latest event updates.
In addition, Harden shared that the best ways for people to support her are by sharing her posts and artwork they buy on social media, visiting the events she vends at, donating to her, and even sharing words of encouragement or little messages of support.
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