Kelvin Okafor has had a formidable encounter with success as
his life-like lead-pencil and charcoal drawings of famous people take the art
world by storm. Kelvin describes himself as a “passionate penciled artist…
highly interested in detail and precision” and, judging by the work he does
with a pencil, we’d have to say his description is, well, precise
He draws very lifelike portraits of ordinary people and
celebrities using pencil and charcoal. Early pieces included portraits of Amy
Whinwhoue, Mother Teresa, Lauren Hill, Jamal, Nelson Mandela, Beyonce, Daniel
Craig, Corine Bailey Rae, Rihanna and Tinie Tempah.
Kelvin was Raised
in Tottenham, London by his Nigerian parents, who according to him are his
number one fans, Okafor says he fell in love with photo realism at a very young
age. ‘I work between 90-120 hours on average on each piece,’ he explains. he
starts ‘shaping the whole face from the eyes’ ‘I chose to work with celebrities
originally because the audience can relate to them and would be able to see how
accurately and precisely I was able to draw.
The highly skilled 27-year old has already had more than 50
commissions and is generating a buzz at galleries he exhibits at and online.
One of his recent accolades, The Catherine Petitgas Visitors’ Choice Prize part
of the National Open Art Competition, was awarded to Kelvin after he received
the most votes from the public. Kelvin has also recently been selected as
one of the top two pieces of work in Cork Street Gallery Open Exhibition Winter
Show. Okafor also attended St Ignatius College, a prestigious Jesuit
school in Enfield.
Source : africanleadership
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