Kgosi Tlhanka, who was raised in a household of four in Molepolole village, has made a career out of art. He told Arts & Culture that he began drawing cartoon characters as a young child as he could, including Goku and Gohan from Dragon Ball Z and Shakes and Scara from Super Strikers.
He always thought of art as a hobby when he was younger and never considered making a career out of it. The gifted artist, who is currently enrolled at the Selibe Phikwe Technical College studying furniture and cabinet making, began his artistic career in the most simple set methods after being inspired by his cousin to create his distinctive style.
He said he chose to study Design and Technology as a secondary school option and studied interior design, which led him to choose to study Architecture at UB, all due to his passion for design. Unfortunately, with his playful nature, he failed some of his final-year modules and was therefore unable to continue his studies. The visual artist failed to secure additional financial assistance to resume his studies after discontinuing. “At that point, my parents had retired and they were unable to sponsor me to complete my studies.
I then joined them at the farm to learn life from the agriculture side as I was never exposed to such,” he added. He explained how his cousin, Reokeditswe Banantwa, an abstract artist, visited at some point and somehow inspired him to get back to art. He stated that he started practicing pencil art doing portraits but in most cases, he never finished the work due to lack of commitment. Kgosi Tlhaka alleged that after moving to Selebi-Phikwe last year, things were challenging for him because he could not make ends meet on his stipend. “Due to the terrible conditions, I made the decision to paint and draw in the hope that it would earn me money. I began practising pencil portraits of wildlife because I thought that doing art from my imagination would allow me to express myself more clearly if I first practised what I saw.
He stated that in order to improve his drawing skills, he then went on to download images from Pinterest and watched some YouTube lessons on various drawing techniques and topics before settling on abstract painting. Kgosi Tlhanka said abstract painting allows him to readily communicate his ideas on a variety of subjects without being constrained by realistic proportions, colour, or other factors. He revealed that creating abstract art allowed him to freely express his views using fine lines, charcoal, and pencils on paper.
“I’m a storyteller who uses art as a vehicle to express tales of love, hope, joy, and the struggles we face every day. We can all relate to the stories I tell via my art,” he continued.
The gifted artist acknowledged that he has since dabbled in mural painting and complimented Premium Nickel Resources Botswana (PNRB) for their Tsholofelo Carnival effort.
He stated that they collaborated on various murals for the Selebi-Phikwe’s facelift with Wilson Ngoni. He noted that being around the skilled Ngoni helped him to be more creative since he draws inspiration from him and other well-known artists such as Philip Segola, Morekolodi Rexx Mautle, and Prince Tom, to name but a few. The talented abstract artist claimed that he has already completed 20 paintings for sale. He said one of his adjustments included specialising in abstract art, which is difficult for many people to grasp or enjoy and has a negative impact on sales.
