Tucked away in his home north of Accra, artist Enam Bosokah sits next to a box of pens and drawing paper. It amazes many that with a simple tool like a pen; worth about one cedi, he produces jaw dropping pieces.

Armed with the ubiquitous Bic ballpoint pen and paper, Bosokah’s photorealistic drawings have captivated many social media users for three years, with lots of arguments about the authenticity of his pen drawings.

“I often get asked if my drawings are real. I just laugh at those questions because I don’t feel they need an answer. [The observer] just has to look on for more drawings to confirm whether they are real or not,” – he told Pulse.com.gh.

He decided to use pens instead of pencils because he wants to prove that one did not need a whole lot to make world class material.

“The pen is very economical; I don’t get to buy a lot of materials and I am good to go. My use of the pen is to prove that those things we underestimate [can create great things]. My use of the pen in creating something of high quality is a message to the public that the little things that you have also counts.”

Bosokah studied sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology but with very little funds for materials, he needed to deploy his creative mind to another medium.

With his drawings, all he needs is to be armed with a pen, paper and peace of mind.

He has drawn a number of renowned black people including Kwame Nkrumah, Martin Luther King Jr, Patrice Lumumba, Kofi Annan, Maya Angelou and Mohammed Ali. The portraits are a complex web of lines and cross-hatch to produce the realistic drawings and requires the use of no more than one pen per piece.

Despite the enormous talent, life as a full-time artist in Ghana is not easy. Bosokah recalls how some of his university classmates have diverted to other fields such as banking or teaching because art was not financially rewarding in the country.

“It is difficult, but you have to fight it; find your way out” – he simplifies.

Bosokah’s way out could have been to sell his pieces. However, he is reluctant to sell because he does not think his artworks are at their best yet and that he is “just having fun.”

Instead he relies on commissioned work which can set one back by about 1,000 cedis.

He laments also about the lack of government support for local artists unlike in many other countries.

“We are not being provided the needed support. Elsewhere, funds are made available for artists for projects but there are no such things in Ghana. So if you are doing anything, you have to fund it yourself [and it makes it very difficult to work].

In the future, Enam Bosokah hopes to get back into sculpture; increase his repertoire so that they can be exhibited and further his studies.