Israel Apeti, The Ghanaian Pen Artist Capturing Hearts
Richmond Setrana
Posted On January 25, 2023
Israel Derrick Apeti, known by his pen name “Enil Art”, is a Ghanaian pen artist who is putting smiles on people’s faces. He does this by quickly sketching beautiful portraits of total strangers with a pen on local public buses in Ghana. On Twitter and TikTok, his art-related posts have attracted a lot of followers.
Israel Apeti speaks about how he started drawing
Israel Apeti spoke exclusively on the Tales of Africa Podcast that he discovered his love and fascination for creating accurate representations of what he saw on paper at a very young age.
He has up till now fostered that passion. The young artist added that he continually challenges himself to do his best on every task. Since he uses a blue ballpoint pen, Israel stressed that he has no room for error.
Israel Apeti confessed to the Tales of Africa Podcast host, Richmond Setrana, that the concept of drawing random strangers on a public bus was inspired by Devon Rodriguez, a New York-based artist who sketches random individuals on the metro.
The American artist first became well-known for his realistic portrait paintings on the New York City subway system.
Israel speaks about how people received his sketches
The talented artist confessed to the Tales Of Africa Podcast host that his art sketches were well received by almost all the people he drew. He said:
“No matter our culture or identity, if people see their image, they are excited. So, I decided to give it a try in Ghana, and since there is no subway here, I decided to use the “trotro” (public transport) and it seems to be working.”
Israel Apeti touches on how long it takes to draw a person
Israel stated that drawing a person can take anywhere between 15 minutes to 1 hour. “Naturally, there are fewer details when there is less time”, he said. He also added that the bumpy nature of most roads in Ghana sometimes impedes the speed of his work.
Israel speaks about the drawing process
The talented artist said that one question people ask him a lot is how he is able to draw random people with such fine details. He confessed that before drawing someone, he first records a brief video of the subject on his phone, then freezes the frame to get an image. From the image, he is able to produce amazing art with a pen.
Israel Apeti speaks about what the future holds
When asked about what the future holds for his amazing talent, Israel said that he hopes something positive can come out of what he is doing. He explained:
“I want to see how far this can go. That is why I keep doing it. I want to see what can come out of it because people are showing interest, this is why I do it every day.”
Check Out Israel Apeti’s Artwork
Israel posts photos and videos of his incredible artwork on his various social media pages.
His works have been shared by celebrities and several media houses in Ghana. One notable figure Israel Apeti has drawn is Ghana’s Attorney-General.
Below are links to his handles that show what he has done.
Twitter : Enilart
Facebook : Enilart
Instagram : Enil Sketches
TikTok : Enilart
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