Artist makes mark with emotion-packed sketches

Before photography, illustrations were the only form of presenting visual information to newspaper audience.

At the first sight of a scuffle along the streets, for instance, an artist would capture the scene on a sketch pad, and later sell it to newspapers.

But even after photography replaced sketches in newspapers, Joshua Obaga, a visual artist, has perfected this art form and recently show cased his works at the Shifteye gallery.

“Every work in this series was a product of introspection,” he says.

He showcased 10 illustrations and sold five on the first day perhaps because he did not dwell on “African art” (savanna and wild animals and perhaps a sunset).

FROZEN MOMENTS

“I was very scared  that people will find faults in my work and was not keen on selling any of the pieces,” he says.

Obaga says he was inspired by Jim Chuchu, the creative director at The Nest and a member of Just a Band to do something extraordinary.

It is then he decided to capture the frozen moments of sadness he experienced, especially after the death of his niece.

“Jim Chuchu told me to engage in something that makes meaning to me, rather than dwelling on how well I should please others,” he says.

After four months experimenting with Indian ink as the primary material, Obaga, 28, created about 40 illustrations that captured the depth of emotions. 

“Perhaps it is because men, and particularly the African men, are a very repressed people since they are not expected to express themselves as freely as women,” he says.

Art enthusiasts at the exhibition fell in love with the way he portrayed his works and the strong emotions they portrayed.

“Some viewers found that these illustrations precisely represented the way they sometimes feel about the world and even themselves,” says Obaga.

Obaga is a Computer Science graduate from Nazarene University.