ARTIST STATEMENT

The unbelievable amount of energy it takes to create such tedious drawings calls upon an intense amount of patience and time.

Because of the tedious detail in my works, I create only 3 - 4 original art works a year. It takes thousands of hours (as well as patience) to create a work with thousands of intricate lines without the use of guides or rulers. Because of these fine details that have become known as the "Safa Bute Style".

I have never had any academic art education which has helped me establish my own "style". I started creating art before I could even read or write and had my first solo exhibition at the tender age of twelve. My feelings, my thoughts, my fantasies and dreams make me want to create my style of art. I don’t even care if I have food, clothing or cigarettes, as long as I can create art that brings me fulfillment.

I am quite creative in the late evening up to the wee hours of the morning but feel most creative after making love. I begin by picturing a work in my own mind (some even appear in my dreams), then consciously creates this thought process on paper or canvas. My work is intensely detailed with very fine, almost delicate lines that encompass the "Safa Bute Style". Many people who have attended my exhibits, as well as critics in my own country, have unsuccessfully tried to categorize my work. I have since visited the Library and searched every book I could lay my hands on from the 14th century through the present day artists and has come away with nothing that even resembles my work. Experts and attendees at my exhibits have come to know my work as simply the "Safa Bute Style."

When drawing, it is just not possible for me to erase; and I amazingly, do not use rulers, guides or stencils. I mentions the hardest part for me "Is to create the image in my mind". I create using ink, pens, pencils, brushes, fingers and even my own blood on occasion for color. Paper and Canvas are usually the foundation for my marks.