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Sketchbooktrails is the art initiative of the young, female artist Taf [Tafadzwa Mukwashi]. All paintings under the gallery tab of the Sketchbooktrails website have been done by Taf since her painting career began in 2001. To view art works, please click here. For all enquiries and pricing please click here.

Facing a Century is a collection of 100 portraits by Taf of real people. It is a celebration of 100 moments of life being lived, capturing people from all walks of life, and emphasizing our shared humanity. Mark Shuttleworth (the first African in space and groundbreaking entrepreneur), Raymond Ackerman (the South African Pioneer of Hypermarkets and the man behind Pick n Pay), Lovely Letsoalo (entrepreneur and pharmacist), Vuyani Bekwa (co-fund manager of South Africa's top-performing unit trust, the Investec Property Equity Fund), Angela Dick (co-founder and CEO of Transman), Justin Stanford (co-founder and CEO of 4D Innovations Group), Ben Nyaumwe (founder and Managing Director of Auspex Property (Pty) Ltd), the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation's Class of 2008, Carlo Gonzaga (founder and CEO of Taste Holdings), Justin Clarke (co-founder and Chairman of Private Property), Thomas Kolster (advertsing consultant and author of 'The Bible of Goodvertising'), Trinity Ncala (founder and MD of T & T Appointments), Ricardo Monk (LifeXchange) and Perina Ngambu (The Big Issue) are the latest to join the Journey.

The other faces of Facing a Century include portraits of Goldfish, Seth Rotherham, Ard Matthews of Just Jinjer, Springbok Legend, Bob Skinstad, Springbok Captain, John Smit, the Soprano, Pretty Yende, Gareth Cliff, the Princess of Africa, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Scotty Smith, another portrait of John Smit with his family, and the youngest face of Facing a Century so far, Kaelan Thomas Staschen. We need YOU to complete the century....more

Perina Ngambu Artist: Taf [Tafadzwa Mukwashi] Oil on canvas 356mm x 305mm

Perina Ngambu is the woman in the 25th portrait by the artist Taf [Tafadzwa Mukwashi] in Facing a Century. Hers is a textured, oil on box canvas, classic grisaille painting in a paynes grey monochrome. Perina Ngambu and her husband moved from the Eastern Cape to Cape Town in 2002 with the dream of gaining better employment and living a better life. However, for many years, they both failed to find jobs that paid well enough for them to look after their two deaf children. Perina became a vendor of The Big Issue South Africa in 2009. The income she has earned in the last three years from selling this magazine has helped her to provide for her family whilst still being able to care for her two children. She is also learning sign language through Sled (Sign Language and Education Development) and she hopes to become an interpreter for the deaf one day. The Big Issue is a non-profit NGO and Public Benefit Organization and it publishes its well-known and much-loved magazine every 21 days. The Big Issue has recognized that some of the most important needs of marginalized adults are employment and dignity. Through its vendor sales operation in Cape Town (and also in Johannesburg), they provide vendors with an immediate income. This is only a beginning - The Big Issue's Social Development Programme provides vendors with vocational, life and business skills training as well guidance counselling. The strategy is to have each vendor eventually move on from the programme as an empowered individual with legitimate and sustainable employment outside of The Big Issue. The Big Issue is also BIG on Gender Advocacy. It has the highest proportion of female vendors of any of the International Network of Street Papers member publications. With a focus on ensuring that women have equal access to services and resources as well as equal opportunities within their developmental programmes, women just like Perina are being equipped to achieve financial independence. Perina Ngambu embodies the immeasurable strength and potential that African women and women across the globe all possess. Thank you, Perina, for lending your face to the Journey! [Many thanks and acknowledgements to Shakes Dwangu and The Big Issue!]

Mark Shuttleworth Artist: Taf [Tafadzwa Mukwashi] Polytich, oil on canvas 279mm x 356mm, 279mm x 356mm, 279mm x 356mm, 279mm x 356mm

Mark Shuttleworth, the first African in space and groundbreaking entrepreneur, takes us to the 12th portrait of Facing a Century by the artist, Taf [Tafadzwa Mukwashi]. The dichromatic polytich in cadmium yellow and cobalt blue is an impasto, textured oil painting on four individual box canvasses. Mark was born in Welkom and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. In the final year of his degree in Finance and Information Systems at the University of Cape Town, Mark founded Thawte - a company that, being the fastest-growing internet certificate authority worldwide and the leading certificate authority outside of the USA, was acquired by VeriSign just four years later. Mark Shuttleworth is 'passionate about the triple thrusts of cadence, design and quality in open source' and has gone on to become the founder of the Ubuntu Project and Canonical. He is the founder of the investment company HBD (Here Be Dragons) and the Shuttleworth Foundation - a non-profit organization 'that accelerates social innovation in Africa with a particular focus on education' and whose aim is to 'support exceptional people to change the world in extraordinary ways.' For many of us, the most awe-inspiring leap into unmarked territory that Mark Shuttleworth has made was in 2002, in the First African in Space project. After months of training at Star City in Russia, he became a member of the crew of Soyuz TM-34 and launched into space from Baikonur in Kazakhstan to carry out an 8-day mission on the International Space Station (ISS). This moment in Facing a Century is of a proudly African boy who really did grow up to become an astronaut. As he continues to live his life, he has taken a liking to 'spring, cesaria evora, slashdot, chelsea, finally seeing something obvious for the first time, daydreaming, coming home, sinatra, sundowners, durbanville, flirting, string theory, particle physics, linux, python, mp3s, reincarnation, snow, mig-29s, travel, lime marmalade, mozilla, body shots, leopards, the african bush, rajhastan, snowboarding, russian saunas, weightlessness, broadband, iain m banks, alastair reynolds, skinny-dipping, fancy dress, flashes of insight, inexplicable happinesses, post-adrenaline euphoria, convertibles, country roads, clifton, the international space station, artificial intelligence, wikipedia, kitesurfing, manx lanes.' Mark Shuttleworth, thank you for becoming a part of this Journey, and for proving that it is possible to touch the sky and all the possibilities beyond it. [Many thanks to Claire Newman!] www.markshuttleworth.com

Become a fan of Sketchbooktrails on Facebook! Fans of Sketchbooktrails receive regular updates, discounts on paintings and can also stand a chance of winning a free portrait. The Sketchbooktrails mission? - SPREAD THE ARTBUG AROUND THE WORLD!

Global Dialogue on Art

2010, June 'Sketchbooktrails - A journey in Fine Art' Article by Seth Rotherham, 2oceansvibe

2011, January 'Art site seeks SA faces' Article by Lezette Engelbrecht, ITWeb online features editor, ITWeb

2011, January 'Facing A Century: turning pop culture into fine art' Article by Monica Davies, Creator of Awesomeness, A Thousand Guitars

2011, March Chai FM 101.9 Interview with David Batzofin

2011, May The Feather Awards, in association with the Female Tribe and 1st for Women Insurance Brokers Finalist: Arts, Culture and Heritage

2011, June Operation Bobbi Bear Article by Tafadzwa Mukwashi, Lead SA

2011, June "Painted Princess" Feature on the Yvonne Chaka Chaka Portrait on METRO FM

2011, June "Yvonne's Portrait Painted..." Feature on the Yvonne Chaka Chaka Portrait on www.princessofafrica.com

2011, December The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation's new generation of entrepreneurial leaders Article by Tafadzwa Mukwashi, Lead SA

Raymond Ackerman Artist: Taf [Tafadzwa Mukwashi] Oil on canvas 610mm x 762mm

Raymond Ackerman, South Africa's Pioneer of the Hypermarket, indomitable leader in business and philanthropist, is the 13th face of Facing a Century by the artist Taf [Tafadzwa Mukwashi]. The portrait is a textured, oil on box canvas, classic grisaille painting in a paynes grey monochrome. Raymond's Pick n Pay story began in Cape Town in 1967 when he purchased a group of four small supermarkets. The decades that followed saw Pick n Pay growing under Ackerman's leadership to the close to 800 stores across South Africa, Southern Africa and Australia that it is today. Pick n Pay is a values-based, strong and enduring family business that has consistently featured in the Top 100 Companies since the early 1970s. Ackerman was the first South African recipient of the Award for Corporate Citizenship from the Woodrow Wilson Centre in 2008 for his entrepreneurial leadership and for the role he has played in the economic recovery and well being of the New South Africa. He has also been a recipient of the Sunday Times Lifetime Achiever Award, the Pioneer Award from the SA Council of Shopping Centres and the IMM Millenium Achievement Award from the Institute of Marketing Management. Raymond Ackerman's phenomenal success in business has been flanked by his commitment to philanthropy. The Ackerman Family Educational Trust supports educational upliftment in SA, providing scholarships and bursaries as well as funding educational organizations for the mentally and physically handicapped. He also established the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development together with the UCT Graduate School of Business in 2005 in order to offer SA youth the opportunity to develop themselves, their communities and nation. In recognition of his dedication to humanitarian service, he was named a Melvin Jones Fellow by Lions Clubs International and he received the B'nai B'rith Humanitarian Award. Thank you, Raymond Ackerman, for lending the face of one of SA's Men of the Decade to Facing a Century. [Many thanks to June Hanks!]