Ryan Hopkins | April 15, 2024
I am artist who is not limited to anything concerning art. I work with a variety of medium, chiefly fine art, visual and digital.Born in the East Rand of Johannesburg (Tembisa). I studied Art and Design at Tshwane North College in Pretoria. I currently live and work as a full time Fine Artist in Gauteng. In 3rd Grade was when I realised I had this talent. It was evident that my imaginative mind was becoming more exciting when I was the 1st learner to have drawn a 2D car and also moved away from what we may call human child drawing to a three dimensional human drawing.
A Fine Artist is someone who expresses themselves through creative disciplines like painting, sculpture and drawing. As a fine artist, you master your technique and your work becomes recognizable and valuable to high end individuals. You will create art pieces that are accessible through Exhibitions, Galleries, Online Stores and Museums. I use my work as a voice to articulate a message that I’m trying to put across and my background has shaped and influenced most of my creative process.
I’d be lying if I said I was not discouraged before by many voices saying my art will not bring bread to the table. After running away from it, doing so many things God knows what! My talent finally caught up with me. This was a path I was meant to follow with a sober mind and be naive about it and thus far I’m confident enough to say it is the one thing that gave me a good pay check and I’m able to sustain my life because of it, hence I’m now a full time artist.
The inspiration behind my creations comes from daily scenes that are happening in my surroundings, projecting from politics, religion, law etc. I consider my work to be the African Renaissance, to re-awaken the obscured perspective of the Afrocentric. Art has enabled free thinkers who are well expressed, creative, genius and having the power to freedom of speech.
My work had been a part of an exhibition in 2021 Titled: Limitless Collaboration. The experience was intensive as one had to engage with the audience and for them to become prospective buyers to most of our exhibited work. The approach was a success as most of the buyers came in numbers and the rest was history, a total thumbs up. I believe that art exhibitions are a gateway to the recognition of an artist and it should never end with one or two exhibitions. We as artist should find it in ourselves to be able to produce more work/art pieces and partake in exhibitions and if possibly create one..
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The duration it takes to complete a piece depends on the project that I’m doing including size, work like Self-portraits drives monthly income sales and they don’t usually take that long to produce. It can literally take about a day or three days to produce work from an A1 (59.4X84.1) CM and A0 (84.1X118.8) CM size. Custom sizes can range from 1metre to any big size and those can take up to five working days and more. Creative and Imaginative concept are an expressive artworks that goes with the mood and inspiration. They usually require more time and that can take five working days to a month of creation and also this depends on the size.
I don’t really have a specific person in mind when it comes to who inspires me in the industry. I’ve always had a fixed gaze on the European Renaissance and I believe my work is mostly inspired and influenced by that period. To my surprise, I turn to gain creative inspiration from day to day conversations and music.And yes, I do sell my work and some of it is collaborated with my work partner as we share a common interest with some of our creative work.
Success will mean to be on a global stage, getting recognized for my excellency and be celebrated for my ingenious creativity that will help to ignite the life of many creatives and changing the livelihood of those who are impoverished from my community and to the world. Living a legacy for my family that will carry on and be shared to the world.Goals change from time to time but the vision still remains the same. The most important thing is to remain committed to that vision and be consistent with the work that you do.
Thus far I have been challenged with discovering my creative niche that will communicate with the audience as my identity or unique style of use.Art is a formidable space with endless creativity. One should focus on their goal and continue to walk patiently towards their purpose and God, the Universe and the Power of Life you call upon will receive you and abundantly bless you.
How do you feel about the state of art in your country and in what ways do you think it could be better?
I think most artists are challenged with the criteria of interest to gain recognition in the art space but it is much more challenging when Art Programmes that are meant to uplift the emerging artist are not erected because of the corruption in our state. The state will need to flush out all corrupt leaders to bring order in our economy.
See Social Media handles below:
LinkedIn : @ LebsNkoanaArt
Thread : @ LebsNkoanaArt
Instagram : @ LebsNkoanaArt
Facebook : @ Lebohang Nkoana