Art in Martin Sefako is something of a visual arts sensation. Sefako is a Motswana artist who has taken the route of intricately bringing to life a number of celebrities using what is termed hyper realistic charcoal drawings of AO size. The sweat and tears that go into breathing life into his various art works is captured on video, something that has done wonders to his portfolio. His very first art work was that of Nigerian superstar, Ayra Starr, Dj Zinhle, her daughter Kario with the late rapper, AKA, and Nasty C. Incredibly, these videos had a combined view of 8 million on Tik Tok. This achievement, he explains, went beyond the population of Botswana. “This is a gate to international opportunities,” he explains. That gate to bigger opportunities recently saw him working on an exciting collaborative project alongside Edgars Stores in South

Africa. Chosen amongst his peers, he travelled to three locations in South Africa in Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria. Narrating how it all started for him, he starts off by explaining that his videos increased his social media reach massively and secured him a lot of audiences in South Africa, as well as new clients, and most importantly, the Edgar opportunity.

Speaking in an interview with Botswana

Guardian, he explains that he was approached on Tik- Tok by a South African based Marketing Company, despite the many artists that were eyeing the opportunity. Sefako was the lucky artist to work on the project with the giant clothing company. The opportunity entailed Edgars running an art competition for young artists, aged below 18 years in South Africa, and it sought the services of Sefako to host art lessons in their stories for children who were part of the competition. The Art Masterclasses were held on August 24- 25th, and he was in SA for a week.

“I was flown to three locations, and they went very well. It was an amazing experience meeting mini- Picasso’s as it reminded me of my younger self, and it was inspiring to motivate them with my life as an artist in general,” he explains.

He further says that other highlights of this life changing opportunity is getting to tour SA and its beautiful landscapes.

A man of prayer, he believes that he got this opportunity on God’s purpose because God leads his art journey. According to Sefako, the drawing videos played a huge role as they gave the viewer an insight into his art processes. “I am happy with the reception, and it is beautiful because art is for the people,” he says. Speaking about what he covered during the Masterclasses, he introduced professional art tools to the young artists, and teaching the basics of drawing they could apply as they grow up, and become artists, as well as learning to see, light and shading techniques. He also had one on one consultations.

He also explains that the videos which shared the creative process of the four pieces take the audience through the drawing process of Hyper realistic art which is the form which requires time, skill and focus in order to capture the smallest of details that make- up a whole picture and create something real come out of a paper. “This is the opposite of Abstract art that is freer and requires less of the above mentioned. One piece took 24 hours to make but I summarised it to two minutes to present it on social media,” he explains.

Taking this publication to how he started in art, he explains that for as long as he can remember, he has always been captivated by art. He has always been obsessed with art. This obsession saw him drawing anything in front of him as a child, and he always asked from his siblings and parents when he was stuck.

“When I started Pre- school, my work stood out according to my teachers,” he points out.

Since in his area, art was not taught at Flowertown Primary school, he joined an afterschool club. “I joined the club at Standard 7, and competed with other Primary schools where I got two position 1’ s, as well as position 2, and 4 with my drawings,” he explains.

He also notes that he enrolled for art at Pekenene Junior, and scored Grade A in his JCE exams. His winning streak continued to Madiba Senior where he achieved A* in his BGCSE. “I used art to apply for university, and graduated with a Degree in Architecture from the University of Botswana,” he shares.

He ventured into the business side of art in 2017, and started getting recognised. His subjects, he notes are his ladder to growth in art, and he loves to see them happy as it motivates him. Some of his happy clients/ subjects send him reaction videos as they receive his pieces, which he say is amazingly beautiful.

He points out that his art is powered by God, hence his future is limitless. He sees his brand going international, and himself as best artist.

“I wish to own an art gallery, and make an impact in society as an artist. With proper funding, I could achieve a lot of my goals,” he says.