Art as an expression and application of imagination is a creative skill well utilized by a Kericho-based university student to earn a living and also pay for his school fees.
Meet Victor Boit, a talented artist from Chepkolon village on the outskirts of Kericho County who uses his drawing skills to create appealing artwork.
The gorgeous wall hangings with custom-made messages are a spectacle to behold for customers checking into supermarkets in Kericho town, where he displays his masterpieces for sale.
The 26-year-old artist reveals to KNA that he banks at least Sh50,000 monthly from the sale of exquisite artifacts he creates using locally available materials such as cardboard, pencils, pens, charcoal, paint brushes, ink, markers, and chalk, among others.
He defines his work as dreamy or fanciful: “It is the kind of art that makes you stare, wondering how many facets are depicted in the painting. That’s basically how creativity works,” said Boit.
Boit, pursuing an Education degree from Mt. Kenya University, intimated that art for him is an inborn skill he discovered in childhood. “Art, design, drawing, and painting flow in my blood, I do it with ease, no struggle at all. I started off drawing graffiti on walls during my primary and secondary school days,” added Boit.
He is inspired by a variety of things around him including environment, people, music, emotions, and religion which more often than not gives him themes of designs to create.
The purpose of creating a work of art, he says is to make something that can be appreciated for its aesthetic beauty. “Modern and contemporary art styles have moved away from being purely aesthetically pleasing but also create emotional impacts,” he adds.
“There are seven general forms of art, but when we speak of art compared to craft, we refer to the creative visual arts. The creative visual arts are traditionally painting, sculpture, photography, or drawing and that’s precisely what I do from my studio in the Chepkolon area,” added Boit.
He singled out inadequate art materials and manpower to assist him in the distribution of his pieces of creative work at various establishments within Kericho town as the main challenges he was facing.
“I only have one assistant but we try our best to bring increase the sales. In the near future I hope to expand the business so that I can meet the high demand for the art pieces. I have partnered with supermarkets and banks within Kericho town that have allowed me to display the masterpieces for sale in their premises,” said Boit.
He entirely lives off his art and design passion, shattering the myth that art is not a marketable career, and hopes to train and mentor upcoming artists to venture into full-time art as a career.
By Daizy Chebet and Monica Irua
