By PETER MUIRURI
Kenya’s glorious wildlife and landscapes are reaching a big attraction in the world stage because of the mastery of talented Daniel Njoroge.
Njoroge, an accomplished artist who specialises in painting wildlife, Kenyan landscapes in watercolours and oil on canvas, has his paintings hang on State House walls and Parliament buildings among prominent public and private locations. He sees art as a means of expressing our rich cultural and social African diversity.
"Our African cultural heritage is well depicted in art. Here we live with animals and share their habitat. As African artists, it is our duty to safeguard our diminishing cultural values," says the painter.
Finese: Like wine, a good piece of art matures with age [Photo: Standard] |
When Njoroge looks back to where he has come from, it is like a dream come true.
His story starts in Mukangu, Embu County, 53 years ago.
His father was an accomplished artist who like others in his era never knew he could make money out of art. Like his father, Njoroge took a keen interest in art early in life filling his tiny room with sketches of cats, dogs and anything else that his hands could fancy.
Not all gloom
The budding painter faced tough hurdles early in life. Like other children his age, his desire was to excel in education and achieve his childhood dreams. This was not to be as he dropped out of school due to lack of fees. Fortunately, a teacher in the school later decided to assist him financially and young Njoroge was back in class.
By the time he finished his elementary schooling, Njoroge was already a proficient painter participating in art competitions in his home area and winning prizes.
"My aim was to take my work to national level. Pursing college education was vital. Again, money for that was not forthcoming and I had to forgo proper college course that I badly needed," says Njoroge.
He enrolled in a village polytechnic and learnt mechanical engineering, a discipline that was to come in handy many years later as he tried his skills in motor rallying. Art, however, could not be relegated to the back burners.
"I regularly visited art galleries like Watatu to acquaint myself with what the market required. What I saw made me even more determined to exert myself and produce good quality paintings. If others could do it, I could hack it too, perhaps even better."
Starting off with watercolours, his paintings of young African boys, girls and animals sold out like hot cakes giving him the morale he greatly needed.
In 1978, he got a job with the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Veterinary Anatomy where he served as an illustrator. He was to quit six years later and dive headlong into the uncharted waters of private business.
Apart from gracing local art galleries with his collections, Njoroge has exhibited his work in Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington D.C., among other western cities.
Would he diversify to other income generating ventures?
"That is out of the question. I can never paint enough. This is a lifetime commitment that I would not exchange for anything else," he asserts emphatically, as he points to a large painting of an elephant hanging from his expansive living room. One corner is the painting studio.
"Art is more of a lifelong investment and not a piece of equipment whose value diminishes with age. Like wine, a good piece of art matures with age."
Like any other business, there are factors that limit one’s financial gain.
"Kenyans need to change their attitude toward art. Generally, they seem to be apathetic to things art and cannot understand how one can eke out a living by ‘just drawing things’. To them, getting life’s basic needs is more crucial that purchasing a painting," laments Njoroge.
Nothing hurts him more, however, than seeing artists being exploited by middlemen who rake in millions out of painters’ sweat.
"Our country has no stringent copyright laws. An artist should reap at least 70 per cent of the earnings, which is not the case," he says.
Njoroge says art has the potential to earn the country the much-needed foreign exchange just like tourism or agricultural products. He would like to see the industry streamlined and indigenous artists protected.
But then it is not all gloom. The artist rakes up to $3,000 (Sh225,000) from just one of his high quality paintings. Art provides income for education of his three children.
Njoroge is also a motoring enthusiast who has participated in many local rally championships, as evidenced by the number of trophies displayed in his living room along Muiri Lane, near the Bomas of Kenya.
