I am painting portrait of my success with biro pen

The ball point pen is not usually not a natural option when it comes to medium for fine artists but for one Kevin Wesah, it is an instruments he holds dear.

Mr Wesah, 28, works exclusively with blue and black ballpoint pens to draw portraits. His attention to fine details in his portraits is what has won him admiration from his clients.

“I ensure my work captures the moods and every little detail about the client. Being an artist requires high levels of versatility. The realism has to come out clearly,” he told Money last week.

The artist has always been good with his hands and as a child, he drew, painted and made crafts. He first toyed with the idea of drawing in his childhood when he spotted his younger brother doing it.

“I came home one day and found him drawing using biro pen and I developed an interest. I have always loved everything about art, sculptures, graphic design and pottery,” he says.

It therefore naturally followed that in high school he would pick art and design as one of the his subjects.

In the four years at St Peter’s Mumias Boys High School in Kakamega County, he learnt the more elaborate elements about pencil art which included paper balancing and toning and scored an impressive B in art and design in the 2006 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.

His journey to fine arts was not paved with gold. He joined Kenyatta University to study industrial chemistry in 2008. For three years he toiled in class but there was one problem; he was not interested and rather unsettled.

“I rarely attended classes and my academic performance was poor. Eventually, I spent most of my time at the KU art gallery which has amazing works on display. It was one of my earliest inspirations,” he says.

He constantly contemplated turning into reality the idea he had tossed over and over in his mind for more than two years and in 2012 he took a dramatic decision; he quit university in his third year of study to focus on his passion. He did not consult anyone about his decision because he knew what he wanted to do.

“My mother was disappointed because she felt I had wasted a lot of money and resources. She would hear none of it,” says Mr Wesah.

In 2013, he turned the passion into a fully-fledged business by posting some of his works on social media. He began marketing aggressively on his social page, Wesah_n_Biro and through word of mouth.

Earned him Sh800

The strategy worked and customers began trickling in. By now he had tried out biro art, moving away from the too common pencil work. His first A3 sized portrait earned him Sh800. “I drew it on a special material, the watercolour paper which is durable and softer than the normal paper.

His determination and hard work finally paid off in December 2014 when he won an online drawing competition sponsored by mobile company Safaricom.

“The competition was to popularise the company’s event with the theme I will be at the Groove Party with Safaricom. I won Sh50,000. It was the turning point in my career,” ethuses Mr Wesah who draws is inspiration from established artists like Nuru Bahati and Elias Mungora.

His customer base was growing and this demanded that he got bigger space for his work. With the money he bagged from the Safaricom contest, he moved from his mother’s house in Kayole, Nairobi, and rented a house in the same neighbourhood where he could work comfortably without the constraints of space. He also bought a drawing table, frames, drawing papers and glass.

Working at home, he says, is not any different from working in an office as you can shut distractions out of your mind. “When you begin your work day at home, you know that you are there to work. It’s all in the mind,” he says.

With an A3 portrait selling at Sh4,000, size A2 for Sh10,000 and A1 going for Sh20,000, Mr Wesah makes between Sh50,000 and Sh60,000 a month. The amount is usually higher during special holidays like Valentines Day, Easter and Christmas Day. In a low month, he earns about Sh30,000.

The A3 work is complete within four days while the A2 is done in 10 days. The A2, which is the biggest in size, is done in about two weeks. His customers are mostly couples and individuals.

“A nice work of art is always a winner in any given occasion. My skill as an illustrator as well makes me a realist because art is interpreted in its actual appearance.  The commonest question is how I am able to draw without erring. It keep them coming back,” he asserts.

He comfortably settles his bills, saves and pays for his employee who frames the portraits.