Meet Tshepo Mokonyane

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tshepo Mokonyane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tshepo, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I cant stress how much practice, rejection and also learning new things helps immensely with confidence. I’ve spent years bettering myself as an artist, failing, getting rejected, destroying, creating again, and eventually some fair share of my wins. This has not only helped me better myself but it has also improved my confidence significantly.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Tshepo Mokonyane and I go under the alias of “Chepo”. I’m a self-taught illustrator and fine artist based in Johannesburg. I specialize in creating unique and captivating artwork that evokes emotion and tells a story. My mediums are illustration, animation, and fine arts. I have previously worked with Gucci, Mini, Levis, and a few other cool clients.

I’m heavily influenced by anime, skate culture, and my life experiences. I’m currently a computer science student,trying to create amazing tools for my art practice

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Learning about art history, storytelling and also knowing yourself.
Here are three qualities that have been the most impactful for my art journey:

Learning About Art History: Understanding the evolution of art and the masters who have come before has been crucial. It has given me a foundation to build upon and inspiration to draw from, helping me create work that is both innovative and respectful of the past.

Storytelling: My work aims to evoke emotion and convey a narrative. Storytelling allows me to connect with my audience on a deeper level, making my illustrations and fine art pieces not just visually appealing but also thought-provoking and meaningful.

Knowing Yourself: Self-awareness is at the core of my creative process. By understanding my influences, emotions, and experiences, I can infuse authenticity into my work. This personal touch makes my art unique and resonates with those who view it.

The best advice I can give to anybody is to keep creating and know where you going

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Definitely! I love the spirit of collaboration. It can be people in different mediums of art or even outside of art. I’m mostly interested in people who are as ambitious as I am.

Contact Info:

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