Zimbolivenews got a chance to interview the most populat and trending pencil drawer artist in Zimbabwe, this talented artist goes by the name @da_vinci_263. His recent drawings of Prophet Passion Java, Mai TT, Van Choga, Winky D and Madam Boss has social media talking about this artist. Below is an Interview we have with him
ZL: Can you tell us how you got started in art ?
da_vinci_263: Well, it started from childhood really. I was always fascinated with pencils and crayons from a young age, and i remamber that throughout primary school, i would always try and draw something in my spare time, and i was always one of the best artists in my stream. My fascination grew more and more through highschool, until around 2017 after hughschool when i decided to step up my game. I learnt through youtube, instagram and interacting with other artists, and i never looked back eversince.
ZL: Is Art you full time profession ?
da_vinci_263: Art is a ‘side hustle’ so to speak. I’m actually Engineering, and i use art as a way to refresh and escape the pressures of school and assignments. Recently, i’ve been getting some orders from interested clients, and this has helped me get a few extra bucs to help me get along. My audience is increasing by the day, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds
ZL: Where are you based
da_vinci_263: I’m currently based in Harare, Zimbabwe, though I move around the country a lot. I also frequent countries like South Africa and Botswana.
ZL: What kind of art do you do ,what do you call your art
da_vinci_263: My type of art is called Realism, Hyperrealism to be exact, though I recently fell in love with Caricature. So Hyperrealism, as the name suggests, is a type of art where the goal is to make the drawing/ painting as realistic as possible. The drawing can look so realistic that it can be very hard, for a non-artist to beleive that it is a drawing done with pencil. Caricature, on the other hand is a type of art where certain features on a person (or anything really).....
are exaggerated and/or distorted, but still retain likeness. In fact, a really good caricature should look like the intended person, more than they look like themselves. This type of art utilises already visible characteristics on a person (like wide nose, widely spaced eyes) and exaggerate them even more, making them even more prominent, thus making the person unmistakable. Most people simply call it ‘cartooning’ but they are two different forms of art. I try to blend the two forms of art and come up with interesting pictures.
ZL: What are the Challenges of on artist especially A Zimbabwean artist
da_vinci_263: The challenges that the majority of artists in Zimbabwe (myself included) face include(but not limited to) lack of art equipment, not being recorgnised and generally being looked down upon, among others.
Professional art equipment is very scarce to find in Zimbabwe. As artists we heavily rely on importing tools like pencils, erasers, etc from South Africa and overseas. Generally, drawing and painting are not regarded as professions that a person can persue full time and earn a living from, yet if we go to countries like South Africa, Nigeria, in Europe, ‘full time’ artists are earning a fortune by drawing and painting. Art is basically a luxury, a prestigious one, and whoever wants to own one should be willing to pay the price.
ZL: What are some of the changes and assistance you would like to see people or Zimbabwean government do to help artists
da_vinci_263: Well, I look forward to seeing more art events, exhibitions and displays. In Zimbabwe, there is basically no art exhibitions, apart from the annual Art Festival held every June at Wildgeese Lodge. As more and more talent is arising, there has to be many platforms, including social media, where these artists get to showcase their work and earn recorgnition for their hard work. Some of the exhibitions in Zimbabwe are either poorly organised or poorly marketed, and this only adds to the frastration really.
ZL:You drawings have been trending on social media the drawings of Mai TT & Prophet Passion Java and others what type of art is that?
da_vinci_263: Well, this type of art, as described earlier is called Caricature. The aim is to distort and/ or exaggerate certain features on a person but still retain the likeness. It’s a very special type of art in that it requires a lot of creativity and ‘craziness’ to achieve. It is unlike portraiture where the goal is to try and replicate what’s already there. What makes is so special is that likeness can easily be lost if one feature is misplaced or slightly altered, but with enough creativity, a caricaturist can distort and rearrange features on a person and make them even more recorgnisable. It just shows the power of creativity and art.
ZL: Do you have a favorite drawing?
da_vinci_263: Well, that’s a pretty hard question😅😅. Generally, i’m never impressed with my artworks i have always been like that. I guess i owe my improvement to that dissatisfaction. Whenever i look at my artworks, i see mistakes and things that i could have improved on, so i’m yet to produce my ‘favourite artwork’. Sometimes i hide my artworks soon after completion because i will be too embarrassed to look at them... when i show them to other people, they literally freeze😂😂😂... i guess that’s just something that only artists can relate to.
ZL: How long does it usually take you do you a drawing?
da_vinci_263: Well, this is a totally subjective, i would say. Since this is a creative process, factors such as mood, motivation and procrastination play a vital role. Assuming that i’m properly motivated and in the mood to draw, factors such as size ir artwork, complexity and level of detail are also determining factors. However, it generally takes me not less than 25 hours to produce a ‘good’ drawing. I can still draw something in an hour or less(like i do on these caricatures) and they still look amazing, but a true masterpiece requires way more time and concentration. My longest drawing to date took me about 2 months, working everyday (i’m also a pretty slow artist) 😂😂
ZL: If someone needs a drawing from you how do they get hold of you ?
da_vinci_263: For orders, people can always send me a message in my inbox on my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever platform they see me on really. I am pretty active on social media, and i try to respond to everyone. I always mention my social media name on all my artworks before posting to make it easy for people to find me irregardless of where they see my artworks.
