Djibril dreams of becoming famous artist

Gifted eight-year-old Djibril Annisette continues to shock his family and friends with his remarkable artistic skills.

It takes him a few minutes to complete a drawing of his favourite cartoon character – Sonic the Hedgehog. When he’s done he puts his best work inside a plastic portfolio just in case he needs to produce samples of his work.

“I started to draw at four years old and it was pretty rough back then. It's just that sometimes I didn't like the kind of drawings that I did. I wanted to improve my intelligence in art and now I did it,” he told Newsday Kids.

In March, he won the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games mascot with his design of a turtle named Cocoyea.

Djibril’s humour and burst of energy was impossible to ignore as he spoke to Newsday Kids at his home in Santa Cruz about his love for art. And although his family praises every attempt, Djibril is his own critic, finding flaws in almost every drawing.

“It takes time to do all these kinds of drawings. I draw with a pencil and then I traced it over with a pen or marker so that I could get all the fine details... I just want to try my best to do better art than I did before. I must do better and when something isn’t working out for me, I find something new.

“I've been watching stuff on YouTube about drawing since I was four, and that just inspired me. I just wanted to be like these people. They draw so well. I want to be like them so bad that I got paper and I started drawing and focusing – no giving up.”

With an unwavering passion that fuels his every stroke, Djibril already has plans on becoming one of the most renowned artists the country would ever know. He hopes that someday his artwork will capture the attention of critics, art-lovers and others who will marvel at the detail, complexity, and expressiveness of his pieces.

“What I would do is that whenever I'm getting like a little bit annoyed at drawing I would take a little time-out... I just want to be inspired with how many drawings I could do in my life.”

He also wants to inspire others. "Since I have such good art skills just I want to inspire people.”

Though he admitted he isn’t a strong painter, he’s tried his hand at abstract painting, and he’s also into sculpting.

Djibril praised his aunts Shemila Alexander and Nimah Mawakil, who are also art enthusiasts, for the inspiration to perfect his skills.

His mantra: “You can't give up because if you just give up, immediately it's just gonna be like all over” has kept him persistent, dedicated, and focused on his dreams.

For fun, Djibril plays online games.