WESSELTON – The self-taught portrait illustrator, Evans Kwapie (35), takes great pleasure harnessing his imagination into his paintings of his clients, which he displays and sells in Kerk Street.
This Suncity resident began his portrait illustration career back in 2015 due to him not obtaining employment. Since then, he has enjoyed expressing his ideas on canvas or in large-scale murals using only sable-hair brushes, acrylic paints and a little bit of water.
“When I first began on this path, it was challenging, since, as a self-taught artist, there were many things I had to learn on my own, such as the very basics of combining paints to achieve the right colours. Now I am aware I can mix primary colours in equal quantities to create brown, which I will use depending on the subject’s skin tone, among other things,” Kwapie said.
He said his older brother, Innocent, who lives at home in Zimbabwe and studied graphic design, also motivated him to further a career in what he loves doing.
“My brother’s ability to pursue a real profession in artwork taught me that it all seems impossible until it’s done. It’s like sketching a portrait; it seems like the final outcome I envision as an artist are impossible until I see the end product and get it perfect,” he said.
Like many artists, Evans initial sketches were not flawless, but according to him, this just served as motivation to work harder to hone his talent and sustain himself.
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