I started dabbling into sketching in 2020 when I was sitting at home alone during the pandemic. I opened a diary of mine to a blank page and just began drawing the living room lamp. Hereafter, I didn’t stop drawing. The lamp also came to symbolise this point in time where I embarked on a wonderful unforeseen journey of creating art.

Sketches after sketches of mundane objects in small notebooks were followed by bigger Strathmore sketchbooks depicting sceneries from imagination. Before I knew it, I began shopping for art supplies, tackling animation and then making my own paper to print drawings on.

Many projects got underway and I was experimenting with my artwork in a variety of ways which was exciting. I recall how elated my father was, who is also an artist, that I started trying out my hand at art. We began doing projects together and exploring techniques, and I loved sharing the artworks with my mother too and hearing her thoughts about them. It was a great feeling sharing a piece of creation that sprang from a mood, idea, dream, or memory. Drawing became another outlet for me to express myself visually.

Animating my drawings meant that I could bring them to life which is exciting of course albeit time-consuming. I loved accentuating the mood of the drawing with motion, music, audio, sound effects and the end-result is always satisfying to look at on loop.

After animation I drifted to another intriguing medium, which is paper-making. Paper-making sounds simple enough because of how little you need to make it, but once I started I realised how much practice and trial and error it requires to achieve the correct texture, thickness, strength and even desired colour that would look good when I print my work on them. Likewise, paper-making is also quite a lengthy process involving blending pulp, drying, and pressing which can take a few days. Even so, it’s a gratifying activity to partake in.

I have been really curious to see where my art will take me next and how it will continue to evolve!