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construction. In total there are close to 100 paintings under construction. To the ordinary eye, it appears as if they are finished but not for Ngoni. And one of these paintings is a very exceptional piece of work that taps into one of his weaknesses. If you are a ‘ true’ Ngoni follower, you will obviously know that answer. We do not want to give you any ideas.

This particular piece of work greets you as soon as you walk in. It is right there in your face. And in true Ngoni narration, very colourful and precise, there is a very interesting story behind that painting which has been in the making for three years. Like some of his works, he has forgotten the title that he gave this masterpiece. Forgetting the name of this painting and many others of his work is something that happens every day as he is always creating one piece after another. And when you have been painting for over three decades, this is bound to happen. We are yet to find out whether he would get over his weakness and finally complete this particular painting. Only time will tell.

Ngoni himself is a picture of calmness. Adorned in track suit and a loose t- shirt, he is ever calm and takes time from his incredibly busy schedule to open up about his latest technique, growth and big news that might excite those who passionately indulge in his work. Ngoni has been painting for three decades. Now aged 43 years, the only life that he knows is as a painter. He has grown in his work, and transcended from painting for just making money to painting and creating a lifetime of memorabilia for his followers, upcoming artists and his family. He is cognizant of the fact that one day, he will be gone from this world. But his work will remain. And he wants to create solid works that speak about humanity, and any subject that he fancies at that particular moment. “Wilson has been painting and painting. I am 43 years, and will move to 45 and soon 50 years. I have painting for over three decades. And as you grow, you have plans to diversify and tap into other opportunities that come your way,” he explains, noting that after all these years he has reached a point of no return.

One of his most exciting project this year, happens to be the Wilson Ngoni Art Centre. The centre to be located in between Kgope, Lentsweletau and Kopong will serve as his own gallery. It is there that he will house his permanent collections, as well as exhibit his memorabilia, sketches and illustrate his journey of humble beginnings to where he is today. He has already started work on the centre, as he has done the fencing. His next step is the borehole, and then a structure. The land has been secured, he explains. He also says that while he works on getting a structure from the ground, he will hold a couple of activities there as with him, the non- existence of a structure will not stop him from holding activities. He also wants to find a team that will be instrumental in the day to day running of the centre.

We then move to news that he has an offer that is very exciting to exhibit his works in the USA. Yes, the offer is there on the table. He has also had offers to exhibit in Germany. But right now, he is weighing his options of going or staying to get the centre from the ground. His top priority right now is the centre. And he believes that he will always have offers that do not come with a time frame, which makes his job easy.

“A project of this magnitude needs time and dedication,” he notes, adding that right now it will be self- sponsored and that he is yet to seek help from outside.

“This will be my legacy to the art community, and the community at large,” he notes.

He further shares that life is a cancer in itself, and that it eats us away. One he notes, might think that time is moving, but that in actual fact, it is us as humans who are going. “Should I die, I want this centre to continue running,” says Ngoni.

Thinking about the USA, he highlights that there are prospects of him going, but that right now he is still looking at his options of whether to go or focus on the centre.

“Again, drilling a borehole is better than going,” he says. “Opportunities to go will never end. I am weighing the invitations for these opportunities,” he points out, adding that one of those offers is to go and share his journey as an artist, and his techniques as well as create a similar structure such as the one that he has for his centre.

“I will be teaching and sharing my journey as a painter as well as my artist philosophy and experiences. While he is yet to make a conclusion about going or not, he is set to embark on a work adventure to Gweta. He has previously passed through Gweta, but now wants to go back and use the village and its surroundings as his muse for his latest works. The plan is to go to Gweta, Nxai and Makgadikgadi. The adventure will also afford him with the opportunity to study one of his favourite subjects which are Zebras. “The Makgadikgadi and Nxai areas are places where I can see open spaces,” he says. Currently, he is wrapping his work and is set to leave in the next two weeks for a month.

He also plans to use the time away to start working on his second book. On his return, he might take the Kasane route, going to the Chobe and Savuti areas or he might embark on his annual pilgrimage to Maun. “The inspiration is vast,” he explains.

On the question of support, he explains that he has been getting a lot of support from Batswana, South Africa, India, Kenya, Ghana, Germany and the USA. In fact, some of the artists in these countries are keen to visit him and learn and hear his life story and how he creates his artworks.

Interestingly, he shares that while Batswana are really consuming his works, some of them are really into portraits. In fact, he wants to do a session where he can teach them about portraits and how to capture the perfect images that will make a great inspiration for portraits. Something that he does not like is getting pictures that have been filtered. A brush is a filter on its own. And the filter, he says, kind of reduces the beauty of that portrait, and it also discourages him.

Technique wise, he has recently embraced dots as his emblem, and will be using them in his work for the next couple of years. “I am using them a lot especially where humanity is concerned,” he notes.

Guided by a bigger force, when he paints, he notes that once an idea comes to mind, it will keep revisiting him until he breathes life into it.

He has also been using a lot of smooth strokes, and his current works have a lot of light, which goes very well with the theme of celebrating humanity. When he is not painting, he is sharing his skills with upcoming artists on Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoon. Although these sessions affect his busy schedule, he is happy to be imparting as much knowledge as he can. “I hope that they will use what they learn here in their works,” says Ngoni.