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“An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one” – Charles Horton Cooley. Picasso Leon Siziba, a portrait painter has certainly lived up to that statement since the time he came into the entertainment industry.
The artist from Bulawayo whose popularity has been growing earned himself more followers during this year’s Vic Falls Carnival last month after he completed a full face of Nigerian musician Ckay and it was displayed at the event.
The portrait was an A2 and it took him 13 hours to complete. He did half the sketch of the grid and completed the portrait live in front of the audience.
The Ckay portrait was put up for art auction for charity and all the profits made were donated by the artist to Wild Africa Fund which is supporting Zimbabwe game rangers.
However, Leon who shared his pictures with the Love Nwantiti hit-maker said the auctioning of the portrait was stressful at first because the crowd was not so familiar with the face on the portrait.
“They only noticed the face after Ckay performed his hit song Love Nwantiti. However, DJ Nani (Ckay’s DJ) is the one who placed a bid and took the artwork at US$500,” said Picasso. The artist was well received in Vic Falls as some people showered him with gifts and took his contacts to place orders. Others posted his work on their social pages, boosting the artist.
Among those who showed appreciation were the Jägermeister company which presented a gift to him.
“I felt like a certified public figure and I cannot describe how I felt being in the same space with award-winning personalities. It was a great experience. I’m grateful for the shared love and gifts that some came bearing, showing how much they appreciate my work,” he said.
Picasso rose to fame when he started painting portraits of artistes from South Africa that visited Bulawayo. These included Aymos, Nkosazana Daughter, Lady Du, Sir Trill, the late AKA, Costa Titch, Ricky Rick and Ami Faku.
He would always present these portraits to the artistes and would be praised by the public for his amazing talent.
He said he is in the process of hosting an art festival where he will draw a particular artist during their performance.
“This is still in the thought process hence I cannot state more details, but I hope that promoters can be more welcoming to us, up-and-coming talents and get to listen to our ideas, instead of shunning them. There’s a lot more talent in Bulawayo, we just need necessary means and support from those who know the value of art,” he said. Chronicle
