Artist finds love in pencil sketching

Spira Tlhankane | Friday April 29, 2016 13:44

 

For some people find  pencil drawing extremely easy because it does not really consume much time to finish. But for Motloung, pencil drawing is a skill that is outstanding because she manages to achieve transcendence on a piece of paper.

Just like any other hyperrealist artist, her works are intended to achieve a photographic level of realism. Most of her work is inspired by surroundings and the way she executes her subject on paper always leaves a thin line between drawing and photography. Breathtaking.

From portraits of children to a version of herself, Motloung’s pencil on paper always gets the desired results.

Whether she is rendering the sleekly cheek of a young woman or capturing the mood of a place, her portraits always find a way to get emotions across. Her favourite subjects are humans as compared to animals. 

Talking to Arts and Culture this week, Motloung said pencil drawing defines her because she manages to capture her observations in small details.

Looking back, Motloung said she developed a passion for art during her junior school days and decided to stick to what she loves. Currently based at home, she has never really gone all out to market her artwork.

The 24-year-old New Era student said she was part of Kanye Artworks in the past and took a break when she moved to Gaborone. “We have exhibited our works during my time at Kanye Artworks,” she said. Explaining her love for pencil drawing, Motloung said there was that raw element about it, which she loves the most. “Pencil drawing gets me emotional and brings updeeper emotions within me,” she said. Her drawings are based on imagination and observation. She loves music no wonder some of her drawings depict a guitar as one of the subjects.

Besides realism she said she wanted to get out of her comfort zone and try abstract painting.

“I am not confident in paint that’s why I choose abstract because people wouldn’t identify my weaknesses,” she laughed.

She disclosed that Masiela Trust Fund  recently bought one of her drawings. However, Motloung said Batswana do not appreciate art and her hope lies within specific people.

“There should be awareness in Botswana because in other countries art is taken seriously,” she remonstrated.