Artist Statement

I grew up wild.  I may not be an expert in written language but I fully comprehend the language of art. My parents always nurtured and allowed me to explore the creativity I was starting to cultivate myself. As a child in Kenya, drawing was one of the few ways to entertain myself. Through becoming a part of the community I helped my neighbors and friends with creative tasks and eventually was taught to paint odds and ends; from community fencing to landmarks using different mixtures spanning from ashes to flowers for the color pigment. So my interest in paint itself peaked when I got my first tubes of real paint. The texture and vibrant color engulfed me with  their intensity. Drawing has became first nature, still sketching everywhere I go today. Eventually, onlookers asked for my work to buy or print for different function announcements, business signs and murals.  When I started painting commissions, I began to draw the attention of the business world, allowing my entrance into the art world with my first show when I was a young child. I like the way my art feels when I finally get the right effect on the canvas, when the image seems alive . The coloring, the surprising details that surface later, the fluidity of the actual brush stroke is like music. The ability to allow for mistakes opens an opportunity for new facets of my style to emerge, finding different views that may have never crossed my mind. I want my art to explore the life and energy that is around us all. I see myself as a mediator for that beauty I like making my art available to everyone.  Sometimes I disguise the injustice and irony in life though Dark humor. I feel like humor makes difficult issues more comfortable and accessible so they can be addressed and brought to light in a different way. It only takes a different view point and like mind to get a point across and gain resolve. The pen is my favorite tool because it allows me to work at any time and place. Liquid pigments are among my favorite materials as their almost amebic nature shifts on a flat surface, bringing images and patterns to play with for future inspiration and endeavor. I love painting because it allows me to be me, to be expressive, and to learn. Art allows me the time and freedom to really take in my surroundings and find new forms of inspiration. Art allows me to take care of others and myself by maintaining a quality of life that helps to influence and inform. To bring a voice and message to people that they can not bring to themselves. To bring awareness to issues that may have never seen light.  A work has turned out well for me if I am able to relay a message portrayed in the image. Disguising the ugly in life with brilliance to be heard and finding the beauty that still remains in depravity. White is my favorite color as it is clean. Because its the presence of all color and works for all moods. When I work with my art I am reminded of how a blank canvas is resembles life and how, as in life, everything is a choice.  It can always be fun if you want it to be and there are no mistakes as you can always replace the canvas image with white, starting over again and allowing for a new adventure. I want to share with the people around me. When people see my work I love to hear their thoughts and their own ability to identify with the painting . To smile or even laugh as it may remind them of a good experience that is familiar, or even the idea that the painting seems so easy and approachable that they can comment on and identify with the painting and express what they feel without the self consciousness of being judged. Ultimately, I hope my art stimulates the observer in feeling as though they are a part of the creation process itself.