Raditladi's passion pushes him to the limits
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday May 21, 2023 06:00
Even though Raditladi is also a degree holder in BSc (Environmental Health) from the University of Botswana, he never gave up on art because he believes it gives him peace and freedom to express how he feels.
He said the portraits he does bring smile to people's faces and strengthens families. “I do art because when I die I want a piece of me to be left on earth. I want to create a legacy. I do a variety of art because I believe art is exploring our universe. I do pencil portraits, charcoal, coloured pencil, paint and not forgetting that I also do sculptures.
Progression is the primary motivation for why I create art. The idea of progression inspires and motivates me, not just as an artist but also as a human being. Productivity makes me happy. Being able to produce and create art for people to engage with makes me happy,” he said.
The Mmadinare native explained that to prompt and arouse emotions to inspire people and encourage them is what gives him great joy and satisfaction and in turn inspires him to keep creating art. He further pointed out that he started to do art from primary school as a 10-year-old after he discovered his passion for art and has been doing it since. He continued with art at junior school and senior schools.
He said a lot of people were amazed at how he was able to create his portraits because they see them as extra ordinary, which brought happiness to them and their families. He said he was grateful for the support they showed him. Speaking of his favourite works, he said there was a portrait he once did to mourn the passing of Black Panther ‘Wakanda’ actor, Chadwick Boseman. “It is one of the works that really touched me so deeply because I really connected to him even though he was not alive. I got to say my last goodbyes.
From that day I was so amazed at what art could do," he said. However, Raditladi said he has encountered challenges along the way. He said art requires money which at some point has hindered him to get some materials needed to produce the barest art works, adding that sometimes he struggles to balance between art work and his professional career.
Furthermore, Raditladi explained that in the next few years he sees his art works being one of the best in Botswana. He stated that his artworks would be preserved in the museums, not only locally but also outside the country. He added that he sees his art changing a lot of lives out there. He added that apart from art, he was an Environmental Health Officer, which made it not easy to balance the two as art requires more time and energy but he uses it to relax and refresh or any time he wants to feel like himself.
Moreover, he advised aspiring artists to do art from the heart, not just for money but to fulfill their purpose as artists adding that they should listen to their inner self when doing art. He also said there were some works he was working on that he wanted to break the work record; the arts that he would commission and give part of the money to charity because he believes God gave him that talent to give back to the community.