A talented artist from Somerset West recently left his full-time job to pursue a career as a full-time artist.
Fabriazo Langford (41) made the decision to pursue a career and dream as an artist.
“I was born in Port Elizabeth and at the age of 23 we moved to Johannesburg. But before all of this happened my father passed away when I was four years old. I saw some of my father’s drawings as a child, he used to draw his own plans although he was an electrician by trade. He had an architectural background. This is where the drawing seed was planted,” shares Langford.
He first started off as a musician, he was a rapper, then he opened up a tattoo shop and after that he went into the property and personal protective equipment (PPE) worlds, but there was something missing, he wanted to draw, he wanted to sketch people.
“At the tattoo shop I started to do portraits for people and sell them and this is where the longing to do it full time started.”
Langford studies people’s faces. He looks at their features. His mind is always thinking of portraits.
“One of my first portraits was one of John Wick played by Keanu Reeves. After that I started drawing local celebs like Maurice Paige who starred in Isidingo and Christo Davids who played in 7de Laan,” says Langford.
He draws using charcoal and pencils.
“When I sit down to draw there are usually 50 pencils on my left and charcoal on my right. I use H and B pencils. The B-pencils are used for the shadows, they are darker pencils. The H-pencils are light and they give more room for error. But when you use the B-pencils then there is very little space for any errors,” he explains.
Langford is now putting the pedal to the metal and he is planning and dreaming of a big exhibition next year where he will showcase 15 to 20 pieces.
“My advice to people who want to pursue a full-time career in art is to become a waiter first. You may not think that this has anything to do with becoming an artist but remember, I have to work with people, I have to talk and communicate with people before I draw their portraits. It helps a lot. It’s also important to get business acumen in place before you start off as a full-time artist, know how to do business and how to generate an income,” reckons Langford.
