By Sainabou Sambou
Abdou Fatty is a young Gambian multi-talented creative male artist. He is skilled in painting, drawing and printing t-shirts.
Sharing with the Gambia Daily Life and Entertainment about his inspirational works, Abdou explained how he began his career, and how much he loves drawing since he was a little boy. “I started drawing before starting primary school and when I was in grade three, my father took me to Karamo’s Arts to learn how to be a professional artist. I used to go for classes during the summer and in the weekends. That’s where I learned how to draw and paint. I spent nine years in Karamo’s Arts learning how to draw and paint and I had a lot of motivation there because my colleagues and I used to compete by drawing and painting all the time,” he explained.
The young creative said that he has a lot of support from his family and friends and they patronised his business. He added that he normally draws his friends’ barbing salons, print t-shirts and also make drawings for grade nine students for their practical exams. He revealed that he used to make drawings for someone who has a shop at the Bakau craft market but he stopped due to some financial issues with the person; that he was not paid on time and not much money as well.
The young artist said he sells his art work online but that the business is very slow. “I normally have contracts but before I get another contract it takes a lot of time and I face a lot of challenges in my work which is financial challenging. Art work also takes time and inspiration and one needs to take his or her time to make good drawings,” he said.
Abdou said he wants to have his own workshop whereby all his art works will be on display and can be sold to Gambians and non-Gambians alike. Lastly, he would also like to employ young people.
