Libita engages in mouth painting
FRANCISTOWN: They say disability is not inability. This could be the perfect phrase that might have been an inspiration for a Motswana artist and former secondary school teacher based in Canada Ontario, Wilson Libita who has painted over 50 artworks in a year using his mouth.
Born in Parakarungu 40 years ago, the former teacher had a car accident in May 2015 and became paralysed from the chest down. After that accident, Libita relocated to Canada to be with his wife and eight-months-old son who were based there.
When speaking to Arts & Culture about probably one of the most inspirational stories, the talented artist said his painting journey started last year
October. “I thought of passing time by painting and after publishing my work I received a lot of positive feedback, which motivated me to pursue it more.
As we speak, I have done more than 50 paintings,” he added. He said painting each artwork by mouth depending on the complexity would take one to two weeks. According to Libita, his one year painting journey using his mouth has been a challenge and has been the most difficult thing to encounter in life. He indicated that most of the time he suffers from neck pains, stress on the eyes due to close proximity with the painting board. “When I drop the painting brush, someone has to pick it up for me which sometimes pains me and I feel of no value,” he added. He said he enjoys painting landscapes both in the natural and man-made as a way of appreciating God and human creations.
Apart from that, the painter also does abstract painting and pencil works with portrait drawings. One of his latest favourite paintings includes the cityscape, which captures the whole city.
When speaking about his condition, Libita said in life everyone faces setbacks but everyone has the power to choose if the same impediments will define them or not. “I choose to be happy and make the best out of my situation and like I said earlier on, when I got injured my family was small but as we speak God has blessed me with two more children,” said the jubilant artist.
Libita wishes to penetrate the global market. He said that 90% of his clients are Canadian and 10% are from abroad. He advised young and upcoming artists like himself to never give up and have patience.