Ricollin Moodley standing next to his painting of Black Coffee made with coffee.
Supplied/Ricollin Moodley
A self-taught artist from KwaZulu-Natal who started sketching at Port Edward Beach at 16 to help his family through poverty has turned his craft into a flourishing career.Ricollin Moodley has gained millions of social media views for his unconventional portraits of celebrities, created using coffee, lipstick and chocolate instead of traditional art supplies.He hopes his story inspires others to find their passion and persevere through hardship.
After days of not having food in his house, a self-taught artist took a leap of faith as he resorted to drawing at Port Edward Beach to put food on the table.
Almost 10 years later, this has resulted in a career marked by his unique painting of Black Coffee – using coffee – and lipstick painting collaborations with some of the world’s leading make-up brands.
It all started when Ricollin Moodley was 16 years old and felt compelled to help his parents through the difficult times they were facing.
His sister was young, his mother was unwell, and he said that he could not sit by and watch as the state of their family’s food insecurity deepened.
“We lived in poverty,” said Moodley.
“I didn’t know I would start doing art, but because of watching how hard my parents worked just to barely make it by – that’s been my motivation.
The only thing that came to my mind was art, just drawing. So, I told my mom that I needed to get a pencil and a page and that we would go sit at the beach.
“We went and sat at the beach, and I started sketching at the beach, and there was this German guy who was watching me. I did not think anything of it as I was just sketching the scenery at the beach,” said Moodley.
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The German man ended up being the first person he did commissioned work for. He had asked for a portrait of his grandchild, and Moodley said that he handed over his first sketch to a very satisfied customer after two hours of focused work.
When Moodley only asked for a loaf of bread and some juice in return for his art, the man went to the nearest shops.
“He came back with groceries. He came back with money, and he came back with a phone, because I did not even have a phone at that time. I was using his phone to do that artwork. And he told me I must never underestimate my value, because where he comes from, what I just created is very valuable.
“And it was the moment I realised that I could actually use this to put food on the table,” he said.
Ricollin Moodley sitting in front of his Springbok paintings made with unusual materials.
Supplied/Ricollin Moodley
Moodley started sharing his art on his Facebook page, and when he ran out of supplies, he would make use of anything he could find to continue his work.
It is how he became comfortable with using anything just to keep on creating, he said.
“It led me to finding a box of discarded makeup and lipsticks a few years ago.
“I tried it and captured the process of trying it. I posted it online, and then I just saw how many people reacted to the lipstick painting,” said Moodley.
Most of Moodley’s work is now on social media. His Instagram reels and TikTok videos have amassed millions of views and thousands of likes.
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He has also painted viral portraits of local and international celebrities.
“I started with the Springboks and trailblazers, like painting Black Coffee with coffee. I recently painted Mr Beast with Feastables chocolate, referencing the YouTuber’s chocolate brand.
“I’m always looking for what I can use that’s going to be more unique so that it can help me stand out. I also create conversation because that’s the most important thing with what I do,” said Moodley.
Moodley said that he is still trying to continually push past the barriers of traditional art supplies.
He added that his family has remained positive throughout all the challenges they have faced.
He hopes his work inspires people to find what they are passionate about and to do what they can to navigate rough waters.
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