Kitsane’s pen art a dream come true
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday April 16, 2023 06:00
The 21-year-old, who is doing Bachelor of Engineering degree at the University of Botswana, makes distorted and commissioned artworks. In an interview with Arts & Culture, Kitsane said she first started drawing at a tender age when she was eight-years-old. She explained that she was really allured by how cartoons looked and wanted to try and see if she could make her own. Additionally, she pointed out that at times she would even go to the extent of tracing them out from books and then altering them to how she found fit. “I believe each and every person living under the sun has a gift and a role to play in the universe. I too have gifts entrusted to me and among those is drawing. I do not want to wake up one day to the saddened eyes of a dream I failed to give life to and that is enough to make me an art fanatic. I could have focused on realistic drawing but looking around, I realised that a lot of artists are doing it,” Kitsane said.
She also pointed out that she felt that following suit would limit her imagination and also limit her ability to articulate her genuine inner voice through art and tell an original story about almost anything of her desire. Kitsane said she wanted to stand out. She wanted to defy the odds and let her voice be heard. She therefore decided to focus on making distorted artworks, which had no limits. Though she has not yet reached a good audience, she said Batswana have shown great admiration for her work adding that they really loved how she never stumbled to change a drawing and see how far the rabbit hole goes, especially as a female artist. She explained that one of her customers termed it as 'very fierce' of her calibre to want to be different. “I remember there was a time my artwork was rejected in an art fair back in senior school, because it was so good the judges did not believe I made it myself. My customers too are always elated to see themselves on paper. My most memorable work is a distorted art piece I made for the renowned lawyer Uyapo Ndadi. I basically made it in remembrance of my late father. This is how I described it," she said.
She continued: "The palm prints completing the puzzle imply the hands of a parent or any adult who raised us into the acclaimed individuals we are today. The reason why they are not actual hands and just prints is that, some of them are late. But they still left a mark on our upbringing. A tribute to our fallen heroes. The picture used in the work did not necessarily mean that I was referring to Ndadi". However, Kitsane said her biggest challenge was tackling school and her talent. She explained that the course she was taking demanded a lot of her time but because of the love she has for art, she always made time. She said she always tried to at least make a complete drawing per week. She dedicates four hours every day to drawing.
Since she started drawing during her primary school days, she won competitions such as the Debswana Environmental Day and Spar Drawing Competitions. She also drew eminent individuals such as General Manager of Orapa, Letlhakne and Damtshaa Mines, Bakani Motlhabani and his deputy Ditiro Lentswe, Bk Proctor, Ndadi, Thabo Kedikilwe, Sir Seretse Khama, Forex trader Skud, Gogontlejang Phaladi Morokotso, Botswana overseas student Susan Charlie, Poet Lame Pusetso, comedian and content creator Depay TML, Bontle Jwa Batswana (BJB) and Prophet Cedric. She said she took art as one of her options in junior school and tried to do distortion as her main theme but it was rejected because the teachers felt it was too much for a 16-year-old female to do and also too much to comprehend. She said she tried to do it again as her BGSCE project but was rejected once again as the teachers felt she did not have enough time to express and explore the topic fully. She then shifted her focus to old age and scooped an A* in her art final project. Kitsane pointed out that she is now living the dream she always wished in her heart, ‘distortion drawing.’
As a student, she said she was working on becoming a fast-paced artist so that she leaves enough time for her studies as inspired by how Pablo Picasso was able to make a complete drawing in 30 seconds. Furthermore, she explained that Batswana were accustomed to watching movies and cartoons made in other countries but said she believed they could make their own. “In future I want to be able to use Ambient Occlusion (AO) to make our own local film characters hence advancing the creative industry. There are a lot of Batswana who are really talented, some are make-up artists, some animators and production designers and I believe together, we could create our very own local Marvel Studios," she said. She advised her peers chase their dreams so that they do not have any regrets in the future.