Art for all seasons

Evans Yegon alias Yegonizer on June 06, 2017 at his working station in Godown Art Centre in Nairobi. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO.

What you need to know:

  • Yegon is 32 now, and has been practicing art exclusively for nine years.
  • After he realised that this was truly the path that his life was meant to be on, he started to actively seek out opportunities where he could learn about art and improve his skills. This is what informed his decision to join Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts.
  • Like most artists, his inspiration comes largely from what he takes in. For example, the gospel has a big part in his life and several of his artistic influences spring from here. Yegon’s most recent exhibition at the National Museums of Kenya was anchored on the walk of Jesus on earth.

Evans Yegon, (known in art circles as Yegonizer) is one of those that were deeply disappointed when art was struck from the 8-4-4 syllabus.

Art was his favourite lesson; he especially enjoyed drawing. Art too wasn’t offered at the secondary school he went to. After high school, and with more freedom and time in his hands, Yegon began visiting museums, interacting with artists and practicing his art. By then, it was clear that study ing any other subject apart from art would have been a waste of his time.

“In 2006, I joined Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts - apart from attending lectures and working on class assignments, I practised art in my afterschool hours. I also visited museums and art studios and my mind started opening up to what art is and what it meant to be a professional artist,” he says.

Yegon is 32 now, and has been practicing art exclusively for nine years.

“Initially, I did not believe that I could pursue art professionally, and assumed that I would get over it and get something else to do with my life.”

After he realised that this was truly the path that his life was meant to be on, he started to actively seek out opportunities where he could learn about art and improve his skills. This is what informed his decision to join Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts.

SYSTEMATIC PAINTINGS

“Having talent is good, but if you have the opportunity to get an education to top up your talent, take it. And seek to continually get knowledge and grow in your craft,” he advices.

“I am lucky that I have parents who are supportive of my artistic talent – they paid my school fees and provided other necessities that I needed to successfully get the training I required,” he says.

He advices starting early – if you believe that you have artistic talent, begin as early as possible to build your skills and to interact with art so that you can begin to understand the dynamics of the field as well as discover the opportunities that you can take up and grow.

 “One of the advantages that I had when starting out was that I had the luxury of only worrying about developing my art skills without worrying about bills. I was therefore able to concentrate on learning and growing as an artist. Money eventually started coming in, and today, I can comfortably support my family using the money that I make from my art,” he says.

Like most artists, his inspiration comes largely from what he takes in. For example, the gospel has a big part in his life and several of his artistic influences spring from here. Yegon’s most recent exhibition at the National Museums of Kenya was anchored on the walk of Jesus on earth and coincided with the Easter holiday. It was titled: Hope: A story of courage and sacrifice. The exhibition, like his other art creations, used a style he calls vibrantism, and tells the story through abstract realism paintings.

“I define abstract realism as real images that are distorted, so basically my paintings are not abstract art in the traditional sense. I also use a lot of colour to make my work spirited,” he says.

Apart from systematic paintings, Yegon also paints portraits of politicians, imagined faces as well as imagined landscapes. So far he has exhibited at the Nairobi National Museum, the Little Art Gallery (Kenya) and the Kigali City Tower (Rwanda).

One of the main challenge of practicing art at the beginning of one’s career is getting people to support you, especially because we live at a time when the society is yet to wholly embrace the so called ‘unconventional’ careers. And this challenge, Yegon was not spared.

“Annabelle Wanjiku, a seasoned artist, is one of my earliest mentors, she opened my world to the life of artists and made me feel challenged to work even harder,” he said.

If starting off in art, Yegon gives the following suggestions: keep practicing and indulging in art, request to visit art studios and galleries and use all the platforms that you have to interact with artists and accumulate as many networks as you can. These are the best options of learning.

TRICKS OF SURVIVING

“Visit the art studios of artists who are already deep in the field and through meeting a variety, you will get drawn to the style of one and you can request mentorship from them,” he advices.

The other method of getting yourself out there is through participating in art competitions, not necessarily to win prizes (although there is nothing wrong with wanting to win) but so that you can meet other artists and draw encouragement and lessons from them.

“While at BIFA, (college) I participated in the Manjano fine art competition; the most important take away for me was meeting other artists, learning more techniques and a view of what the world beyond my art class looked like. This competition was a very defining moment for my career.”

He adds that it is important for young artists to work with the older, seasoned ones so that they can get direction, mentorship and also begin to learn the tricks of surviving in the field and benefit from the knowledge that the experienced artists already have.

Yegon is based at the GoDown Arts Centre. A typical day begins at 8am and ends at 5pm from Monday to Friday.

It takes him between a week and a-week-and-a-half to complete a painting.

“Apart from the art exhibition, I also share a lot of my work on online platforms. So far, the response has been good and has made me want to become even better at what I do.”

He is good at what he does, isn’t he?