DURBAN - With just a broken pencil and an old eraser, 12-year-old Lungelo Mjwara skillfully sketches a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi.
He's doing it without tracing or planning on the piece of simple white paper.
Mjwara said he started drawing cartoons when in Grade 2. Picture: Nqobile Mbonambi/ANA.
He just holds the picture of Mahatma Gandhi in his left hand, and draws what he sees - smudging the pencil line with his finger here and there, making the portrait come alive with shadow and depth.
Mjwara, a humble boy, from rural Inanda, to the north of Durban, said he started drawing cartoons when he was in Grade 2.
Now, in Grade 6, Mjwara is making waves after his teacher, Zipho Gcabashe, shared photographs of his artwork on Facebook.
"I was amazed to see his portraits, I even asked him to draw one in front of me so I could see this was truly his. For his age it is unbelievable to see a child draw in this way. He hasn't had any training, it just comes naturally," said Gcabashe.
The post has since been shared over 8000 times, with scholarship and bursary offers pouring in from a number of institutions.
The Mbasela Primary School pupil remains humble though.
"I have no words to say how excited I am, but uGogo said I must continue drawing and avoid becoming a street kid. I just want to help my family," he said.
Asked about his favourite people to draw, Mjwara said: "Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi... because they helped us towards freedom."
Mjwara has since been contacted by various role-players in the art industry including the eThekwini Municipality and the Durban Art Gallery, which Gcabashe said have promised to help Mjwara move forward in the industry.
Lungelo Mjwara, at 12-years-old is a skilled artist. Picture by Nqobile Mbonambi/ANA.
Gcabashe added: "We have a culture of favouring sport over art. There are many kids like Lungelo and we need to pay attention to them. We can't judge a fish by it's ability to fly, we must judge it by it's ability to swim."