Teenager turns art into a career
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday February 9, 2018 15:06
The teenaged told Arts and Culture that she accidentally ticked art as her practical subject when she started her Form One. As the saying goes, “everything happens for a reason”, and that day, Twala’s destiny as an artist was made
“I was surprised when I excelled in the subject. I even got three awards while studying at Bonnington (Junior School)for art. I therefore decided to continue with the art subject at my senior secondary school and I also learnt a lot from my teachers. However, my senior secondary art classes were harder compared to Junior Certificate. However, I did not throw in the towel and decided to take my teacher’s criticism as an inspiration to work harder.”
Twala said she realised that she had developed passion for arts when she started using coloured pencils.
She works with different mediums to create her masterpieces ranging from colour-based mediums, chalk pencils, paints, acrylic and colour pencils which she normally use. In fact, she has realised that her artistic strength lies in colour pencils.
The journey did not end in the classroom as the young artist has gained popularity and customers on social media. Twala is thankful to her mother, whom she says played a major role in her development, and was the one who posted her work on Facebook. That is when many people started showing interest in buying her work that sells like fat cakes. She now does commercial artwork.
“This could have not been possible if it was not for the immense support I got from my mother and the teachers. I have decided to take a gap year before going for university and focus on my art. I would also like to study abroad to perfect my art skills as I intend to take art as my profession,” she said confidently.
Twala advised fellow youth to keep pushing and not listen to other people’s negative comments. She said if one is passionate about arts, they must keep on pushing because one day they will get that big break they want.