Kevin Hart support the arts.
The 39-year-old comedian is purchasing an extraordinary hyperrealistic pencil sketch from a Nigerian artist who was hoping to make the image go viral so that the Hart would see it.
Eli Waduba, of Kaduna, Nigeria, got more than he wished for after tweeting a photo of the stunning piece Monday (Feb. 25). As Wadubo explained in the tweet, he aspires to be like popular Nigerian artist, Arinze Stanley. “Please retweet, let @KevinHart4real see it, thank you,” he added.
The post wracked up thousands of tweets. Two days later, Hart retweeted the image and promised to purchase the portrait, along with a few more original pieces for his friends. The image has since been retweeted half-a-million times.
“I see it and I want to purchase it…I also want to support you and your amazing talent by giving you a fee to do a pencil drawing of 3 of my celebrity friends that I can gift it to. DM your info and let’s get to work!”
I see it and I want to purchase it…I also want to support you and your amazing talent by giving you a fee to do a pencil drawing of 3 of my celebrity friends that I can gift it to. DM your info and let’s get to work! https://t.co/ImOYa0UNlL
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) February 27, 2019
Waduba was surprised at how quickly Hart saw the photo. “I hoped he would see it and actually believe he would see it someday. But I did not know it would happen so fast,” the 26-year-old artist told CNN.
Wadubo confirmed that he has already started the “process” of selling the artwork, but the surreal experience has been “overwhelming.”
“Kevin Hart has always been my favorite comedian,” he said.
Wadubo, a cooperative economics and management graduate of the Kaduna State Polytechnic has been drawing since he was 9 years old. The intricate art form is apart of a bustling trend in Nigeria, and social media has played a big part in giving artists a global fanbase.
Last year Nigeria’s youngest hyperrealistic artist, 11-year-old Kareem Waris Olamilekan, caught the world’s attention with his outstanding pieces.