When Nigerians walk in new worlds, they explore them. With the kind of miracles Kelvin Okafor works with his pencil, da Vinci, Caravaggio and Jan Vermeer would do more than doff their hats. The only reason you won’t stare long on one of his pictures is because you are seeing others calling for your immediate attention.
Born on November 1, 1985 in London to Nigerian parents from Ibusa, Delta State, Kelvin Okafor has been able to capture the world’s attention with his ‘miracle pencils, paper and charcoal’.
This great Nigerian artist, who has always been fascinated with creativity, grew up in a tough council estate. Having little money those days, he spent most of his time teaching himself to draw and pushing himself to get better.
At about age 15, the reaction of parents and teachers made it clear to him that he was born to draw. After his A-Levels at St Ignatius College, he went for a one year course in Foundation Art & Design at City & Guilds Art School. He then proceeded to Middlesex University where he got a B.A. Honours in Fine Art.
This super-gifted photo-realistic artist can work in various artistic medium such as sculpture, glass, printmaking, painting and casting, but it’s his pencils that form his magic wand.
His form of art is called photo-realism and he charges from as much as N320,000 for a drawing. His early pieces included portraits of Amy Winehouse, Mother Teresa, Lauryn Hill, Nelson Madenal, Beyonce, Daniel Craig, Corinne Bailey Rae, Rihanna and Tinie Tempah.
Okafor says he sets “unreal” goals for himself but to him, the efforts made are more important than achieving the goal.
His drawing, Adam (see below), won the Catherine Petitgas Visitors’ Choice Prize and was selected to represent the National Open Art Competition at the Works on Paper/Watercolour Fair at the London Science Museum from January 31 to February 3, 2013.
He draws very lifelike portraits of ordinary people and celebrities using pencil and charcoal with his drawings often mistaken for photographs.
Achievements
Kelvin’s drawings have scooped a number of awards as his unerringly accurate depictions of celebrities have seen him win prizes at the National Open Art Competition and get selected as a leading piece at the Cork Street Gallery Open Exhibition Winter Show.
You would be immensely stupefied with the tones, textures, illusion of colour and emotions Okafor is able to create with just one shade of lead.
Exhibitions so far
He has exhibited artworks at two prestigious exhibitions in the UK, The Mall Galleries for the Threadneedle Prize Exhibition and National Open Art Competition with four exhibitions at: The Minerva Theatre, The Prince’s Foundation, Pallant House and The Science Museum.
See more photos of his works below:
The post [PHOTOS] Meet Kelvin Okafor, The Talented Nigerian Artist That Draws Pictures That Look Like Photographs appeared first on KokoFeed - Nigerian News For The Young Generation.
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