Born in Nakuru, and a beneficiary of Langalanga Scholarship fund (www.langalanga.org) David attended Buruburu institute of Fine Arts (BIFA) attaining a Diploma, Drawing and Painting option. He experiments on many materials and art aproaches, murals, illustrations, drawings and crafts but his favorite is oils on canvas. He has worked alongside many other established artists, participating in a number of exhibitions both local and international. He is a founding partner of Brush Tu Art Studio.

Michael Musyoka is a fine artist who mostly uses acrylic as his medium.

This is a common choice for many artists, but it is the way he renders his subjects that separates this 27-year-old visual artist from the rest.

He defines his work as dreamy or fanciful, which is almost abstract, but with several layers of realism to it.

It is the kind of art that makes you stare, wondering how many facets are depicted in the painting. It is as if they can be defined at first glance, but a few minutes later, a second, third or even fourth perspective is revealed.

The paintings make one want to reach out and touch them as the eyes are easily led to believe that it is a 3D structure.

His current collection called ‘Song of the Unsung’ is inspired by African musical instruments especially from Kenya. It is his way of celebrating these native pieces.

VERSATILE SUBJECT

The ‘Obokano’ painting is a futuristic depiction of the string instrument popular among the Abagusii. It’s as if an electric guitar has been intricately fused with the original instrument. Parts of the painting darken to reveal depth.

The other is the ‘Wandindi’ painting. It is rich with hues of off white and brown, which complement each other beautifully with a pop of orange.

A single string runs almost at the centre of it. Somehow, one can see the instrument but cannot help notice the underlying futuristic aspects about it.

The painting, ‘Maasai’, is from a separate collection. What strikes me about it is that it is a portrait of a man who seems to have focused his gaze straight into the eyes of the viewer. His face is seamed invisibly by strips.

Art really does pay the bills for this versatile painter

The artist tries as much as possible to be versatile with his subject matter, but the one thing that they all have in common is the dreamy and surreal fine blending detail.

Michael attended the Buru Buru Institute of Fine Art, from where he graduated in 2012 with a diploma in Art and Design, majoring in Drawing and Painting.

He is inspired by different things around him. The way he is socialised plays a major role when coming up with themes. He loves comics, anything graffiti related, music and movies that have futuristic themes.

“It is artists like Bank Slave who greatly inspire my work. He is a graffiti artist,” Michael says. His journey has not been easy.

During his time in college, Michael waited tables in an upmarket restaurant to pay his way through college, but at some point, he was forced to stop working because demands at school would clash with his work schedule.

Eventually, he had to defer some semesters. As fate would have it, he was fortunate enough to meet a private sponsor who paid his fees until he graduated

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PRICEY PIECES

Together with two other artists, he owns a studio in Buru Buru called Brush Tu Arts

They do all sorts of art related activities like painting backdrops for stage plays and wall branding for corporate offices but they focus mainly on murals for homes.

“Our clients so far have comprised of people who would like to paint murals in their homes especially in their children’s bedrooms,” he says.

Michael’s pieces sell for as much as Sh100,000, depending on the size of the painting. He has held a group exhibition at the National Museum and is planning his first solo exhibition.

He entirely lives off his art, shattering the myth that art is not a marketable career.

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