Tsholofelo�s ever-evolving artistry

Thato Kala | Friday January 23, 2015 20:29

 

The South Africa-born artist says the driving force behind this is his passion for the art.

“It all started from a young age.  I could go to the shops driving my wire van.  I would take a bicycle tyre and make the wheels (of the car),” Tsholofelo says.

The goodies he bought at the shops would be put inside the wire car and he would ‘drive’ back home.

“I made sure it was very strong to carry everything,” he says.

Tsholofelo says working at his brother’s art studio in Gabane opened his eyes to the fact that this trade could be a source of livelihood.

A stint with a company that dealt with metals further exposed to him another avenue to expand his art.

“When I went to Gabane where my half-brother was working from I learnt the basics of fabric painting,” he says.

This, to Tsholofelo, was real introduction to the world of art.

Things began to pick up when he got his own space in Thapong where he started off making braai stands.

Now based in Gaborone, the artist possesses one amazing attribute that has set him miles apart from fellow artists – the ability to zealously market his work.

“I would not wait for anyone to market for me. I learnt that I did not have to sit there and wait for someone to market for me,” says Tsholofelo.

He adds: “I believe people have bought my work because of the way I present it.  It is presented with deep passion of wanting someone to understand what made me to do it”.

He is convinced that has rubbed off every other artist who has worked with him.

He, nevertheless, gives credit for his growth to Thapong where he has taken part in several exhibitions.

“Thapong is good because tourists come there quite a lot. It helped me, I was featured in papers because of Thapong,” he says.

Most recently, the talented artist toured Kasane and Maun after an invite from the Curriculum Department (in the Ministry of Education and Skills Development).

Of interest is how he considers a drawing done during that visit his best piece thus far.

He explains that, “The idea was to create works from what my mind had captured”.

That mental image was captured during his first boat cruise.

“I saw rhinos, crocodiles and fish.  It was live, it wasn’t television stuff, it was a good adventure,” he says.

His rhino painting done from that trip says it all.

Another drawing of sunset with two giraffes and small mountains on the background also capped off a memorable tour for Tsholofelo.

He is convinced artists need such experiences in life so they can sketch out of real life experience instead of copying from magazines.

“If you see an elephant with a boat on the background you could change the scene a bit and give it a bit of originality,” he says.

Never mind his seemingly huge passion for drawing creatures, Tsholofelo says his specialty is fabric painting.

“I do hand painted African designs,” adds the artist.

Perhaps his gravitation towards fabric painting is because of the expenses associated with metal products.

To grow his art and business, Tsholofelo says he needs mild steel, grinders, a good place to work from and protective clothing to produce proper braai stands.

With half of those things, Tsholofelo says he would never short-change his clients.

“I always make sure I come up with a masterpiece,” he says.

For fabric painting, all he needs is old denim or canvas and fabric paint.

Tsholofelo explains that art runs in the family, as his parents and siblings are all artistic. 

His mother and father used to do carpentry.

He remembers vividly the cabinets his father would make while his mother worked with wool.

“I think this talent comes from my parents. Also my sister runs a studio in Gabane,” he says. He, however, draws inspiration from yesteryear French artists and closer to home, Wilson Ngoni, is his favourite.

He dreams of one day being a highly successful and professional artist who will help others discover and explore their gifts.

An arts exhibition centre is also a dream he fancies a lot.  He is convinced Botswana is in the right direction in as far as art is concerned.

For now, he wants to run a small business.

“This is so I don’t get stressed when my work is not bought. I also want to be able to feed myself and my daughter and help my mother as well,” he says.

That kind of stability, he says, allows an artist to give artworks the ideal time they require rather than rushing through and giving clients ‘half-baked’ pieces.

Those that have followed artworks of the 30-year-old closely would wonder what next art form would he explore.