27 Oct 2015

When many boys his age were learning football skills, the reserved Baboloki Sebeelo chose to develop his artistic skills. 

The 25-year-old from Kanye said he has always had a penchant for arts.  

“As far as I can remember, art has always been my fascination but visual arts definitely captured my heart,” he says.

He was quick to admit that although he realised he was born with such talent, he never took it serious until in his late primary school years when one of his Design and Technology teachers, Anastacia Lemme, took him under her wings to bring the best out of him.

He said that as many techniques as there were in visual arts, he specialised in pen on paper technique also known as pointillism. He explained that with this technique, he used small distinct dots of colour to form an image. 

The pointillist explained that being a full time member of the Thapong visual arts, helped him network and promote his art technique. “Pointillism is not commonly known like other techniques in the country therefore being a member of Thapong visual arts doesn’t only help me better my skills but it also aids promotion of this form of art,” he explains.

Although he did not emerge the overall winner during Thapong Visual Arts after being nominated in 2012 and 2013 respectively, Sebeelo refused to surrender. He continued to work hard to sharpen his skills.

The year 2012, remained the highlight of his career after he was approached by the local film maker, Thabiso Maretlwaneng of Dee Zone productions who asked him to make canvas pictures for his studio. 

Sebeelo was also appreciative of the fact that Batswana were slowly warming up to his products as they bought them to display in their houses and offices.

The artist said networking with other artists was also vital for nurturing one’s artistic skills hence his intention to join a group of artists in South Africa called Ghetto Street Artistical to further develop his technique.

Locally, Sebeelo and a group of other artists were mulling over the idea of opening a centre where they would offer tutorials to aspiring artists for free. 

“The bigger vision of the centre is to get artists off the streets and house them under one roof,” he says. 

 He pointed out that parents should also give support to children who have great potential and love for art. BOPA