POLOKWANE – Bringing preschool murals to life with his creative mural painting art, Tawanda Mhandu, artistically known as ‘Tawandamuafrika’, is passionate about creating magic on preschool walls.

Tawanda recently worked on the Kraaines Preschool mural, creating a more colourful environment at the parking area, with the faces of happy children on the wall, playing and having fun, collaborating the artwork with educational words on the wall.

Through his art work, Tawanda draws cartoons, animation, letters, numbers and other preschool related images to portray a friendly and welcoming environment for children, instilling learning, play, and creativity through his passion.

Tawanda told Review he enjoys working with preschools, expressing his artistic skills on the walls.

“I enjoy turning preschool murals into more vibrant and colourful pieces, turning the murals into a more welcoming space, which also attracts children because of how colourful it is.”

He also draws portraits, expressing facial expressions, colour and creating memories.

“Portraits for a self-taught artist like me are the easiest first source of income, and it’s the best way to be paid to learn how to master your skills and techniques. I also believe that the internet is a university when resourced properly, therefore it’s great to be in the 21st century,” he said.

When it comes to the time-frame of making portraits, Tawanda said it depends on how big the portrait is and what mediums to use.

“I would usually take about three days or more to create one, to perfect it,” he said.

He loves caricature portraiture most, as it best captures character and humour, he said.

“I also follow good artists on social media. That’s how one keeps abreast of advancements in the industry.”

Tawanda advises aspiring artists to draw and paint more from real life images, than from photos or pictures.

“Master the colour wheel first, as colour mastery manifests alchemical magic in art.”

Tawanda is also a performance artist, and in that, he performs sand art.

“My stage name is ‘Thesandpoet’, and I’m currently in the process of finishing off a theatre production in collaboration with other artists from Rwanda and other parts of Africa.”

They have also performed at the Market Theatre Joburg at the National Children’s Theatre Festival.

“It’s such a beautiful production about taking care of the earth and environment.”

To convert your pre-school mural/wall into a more welcoming art piece, contact Tawanda on 073 343 2009 or e-mail Tawandamuafrikastudios@gmail.com.

You can also follow him on Instagram: @Tawandamuafrika_studios to see more of his art.