Young artist Wilson Ngoni has come a long way

On meeting him for the first time early this week, he is totally different from the picture I had painted in my head. He is a tall young man with a warm and welcoming smile that puts you at ease when talking to him. Upon visiting him at Kopong village in Kweneng District where he resides, we found him busy working on different paintings but his concentration was on a certain portrait that he had to finish and deliver in Gaborone before Fathers Day (June 21). He says that he cannot go for more than three days without painting.

Born  in a family of seven kids, comprising six girls and him, Wilson is the second born. His mother died in 1999 after she fell ill and being the second born and the only brother, he has the responsibility to take care of his siblings. Ngoni's love for art goes as far back as 1994 when he tried different artistic experiences ranging from sculpting to drawing, though his mother  and brothers felt that art was consuming much of his precious time.