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APTLY nicknamed Leonardo by his mother, xafter the famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci, Heather Secondary pupil Kaveer Padayachee will be one of the youngest artists showcasing his work at the Hilton Arts Festival next month.
Currently in Grade 9, the 15-year-old has reached remarkable heights for an artist of his age, having already had his work displayed at the Basani Art Gallery and Bessie Head Library in the Pietermaritzburg.
“Kaveer’s work was also taken to the Oribi Airport where it was displayed,” said proud mom, Manitha Padayachee.
She said her son’s love for drawing stemmed from a young age and at the tender age of eight, caught the eye of international buyers with his replication of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings.
“He grew up loving to draw from a very young age and was able to draw anything that he laid his eyes on and was interested in,” said the mother. The young artist said he was honoured by the invite to the Hilton Festival, having already won seven art competitions.
“I love painting and it is a real honour to be invited to showcase my work at the festival,” said Kaveer, who added that he would like to pursue animation as a career once he was done with school.
He praised the efforts of his former teacher, Grazielle Maggesi, who he said always praised him for his work and promoted his love of art.
“I knew he was special when I saw his paintings so I took photos of his work and sent them to Mentana Art Gallery in my home town of Florence, Italy. Off course they wanted to showcase his work but for legal reasons in my country they could not allow a junior artist’s work to be showcased,” said Maggesi, adding that she would continue to promote Kaveer’s work.
