Ramorwa draws inspiration from Martin Sefako
Larona Makhaiza | Sunday February 4, 2024 06:01
Upon seeing Martin Sefako’s work, Ramorwa says he instantly felt the burning urge to pursue art and was motivated to pick his brushes and pencils to express his talent. He tells Arts&Culture that whilst most artists do art out of passion, it took inspiration from a fellow artist to do art because it was not something that he ever took seriously.
Ramorwa stated that he would forever remain grateful to Martin Sefako for inspiring him to ‘find himself’. “I did not really take my art talent very seriously at first nor believe in it until I saw Martin Sefako’s work on social media and from there I was really inspired to start practicing art and come up with portraits. I have never met (Martin) Sefako in life but I was inspired by his breathtaking artwork on social media. And I will forever remain indebted to him for that exactly,” he said.
The 18-year-old added that he did not want to venture into art because of the problems that have always besieged the creative industry. He explained that since the creative industry is neglected, he did not feel it was worth it to pursue his talent. “I feel like art is not taken very seriously in Botswana, especially by our leaders.
This is one of the main reasons why I was hesitant to pursue it at first. But here I am now,” he said. The teenager reflected that he discovered his talent at the age of 15. He explained that he never did art lessons during his school days but was just self-taught. To improve his trade in visual arts, Ramorwa explained that he watched videos on YouTube where he learnt the skills and better and better with every pencil stroke. Since practicing his talent and sharing it with the public, he said he has encountered some backlashes, which he did not allow to deter him.
“Ever since I started posting online, I realised that there will always be critics of art but I take those critics positively as they help improve my art,” Ramorwa confidently said. In the type of art that he focuses on, Ramorwa highlighted that as a relatively new player in the industry, he is avoiding burdening himself by doing different types of art.
“I focus on scribble art as well as charcoal art because these are the two things that I am thriving on currently and I want to perfect them. I don’t want to do many things at once as it might be difficult to reach my potential,” Ramorwa stated. He advised aspiring artists who might be in the same shoes as he was to believe in themselves and not be derailed to do their thing.