Fabriazo Langford, a portrait artist based in Somerset West hopes to elevate the beauty of this art form by exhibiting some of his work locally. A goal, which he is now enthusiastically working towards.
His love for and discovery of portraiture goes way back to when he was just a child, he says.
“I’ve been drawing since the age of six and did art on school level, but my portraits always stood out on class level, so I’m mostly self-taught and spent more than about 10 000 hours in drawing.”
Pencil and charcoal are his preferred mediums. “The challenge for me is to always take a household item like a pencil and try to create something that’s extraordinary with something that is thought of as mundane or not much of like a pencil,” he provides insight into why this is.
Portraiture, he explains does demand a certain level of skill, ability and require a specific creative process. “In order to capture likeness every single time you have to master your tools be it your paper, pencils, charcoal and you have to master the ability to blend and tone seamlessly and pay attention to the sort of details that most people don’t even see.”
He shares more on his plan to exhibit. “Before choosing a venue the goal is to create as many exquisite pieces as possible. You see in a world where technology advances at lightning speed it’s important to showcase timeless moments created with ancient tools, like pencils and papers, but continues to wow people today if it is done correctly,”
This fine artist was first a musician and travelled internationally performing as a rap artist known as F.A.B and his songs enjoyed airplay locally and internationally.
But he says, he fell in love with drawing before ever envisioning a career for himself in the music industry. The decision to make the transition from music back to art was a natural one, spurred on by an inherent desire to be his true self.
“Technically I was drawing before I even thought of becoming a musician,” he says and adds, “I think the music industry can be extremely demanding and sometimes it becomes even less about the music and more about how you need to sell it so, you lose authenticity in this way; so, I really just chose to keep my authenticity.”
As an artist, he draws inspiration from the delight and joy customers express when collecting their portraits. “When they see it for the first time, it’s almost equivalent to when they are picking out their new favourite pair of shoes.
“So that type of feeling they express upon first setting eyes on it and the wow that they get from it; followed by the emotional involvement that they attach to it, you don’t get use to that, so you always chasing that feeling and try to service people in the best possible way with your art.”
What does he wish to share with people through his portraits? “The idea is always to share with people the notion that extraordinary things can be created by everyday people all around you and art makes you stop and think about that.”
Besides being an outlet for his love of art, portraiture has brought about interesting life experiences. “I’m always amazed at where my art takes me, I’ve met mayors, I’ve had the acquaintances of celebrities, I’ve painted professional race drivers; all with a pencil and a paintbrush and that in itself is always so astounding to me.”
Currently his aim is to build a huge collection of portraits for his exhibition and invites people interested in commissioning a portrait at his studio in Somerset West to contact him on WhatsApp at 078 990 1860.
To view his art, go to his Instagram Page, @Fabriazo_Langford
