By Betty Luke
Every day, the country wakes up to millions of new pencil artists’ majority of whom are fast to declare that they had been passionate about drawing from childhood.
Some of them quickly and luckily gain their way up the ladder while others still struggle to earn a living through art hoping that one day their young star will shine.
Industrious Elias Mwenda Koome popularly known as Eliasco Komz, unlike several other artists who draw on a part-time basis, has taken art as a full-time hustle while his civil engineering Diploma course remains his side hustle.
He says, it is not about the money he earns but the gratification that he gets from what he thought was just a normal talent but later and recently turned out to be his main income provider.
The Karumo Technical Institute alumnus is a self-taught artist who discovered his talent while in primary school but focused on the knack after winning a drawing competition at the institution in 2019.
“I was notified that there would be a competition to brand the school bus and I decided to participate,” he said adding, “There were several participants but I was sure I would at least be among the top five.”
The 24-year-old was lucky to be the best candidate and was awarded Sh3000 that he used to buy materials that he used to draw portraits of several students who immediately sought his services and encouraged him to embrace the art.
“Several students started approaching me for portraits which I did at some little fee that went into the purchase of the materials needed such as drawing papers, pencils, colours and frames,” said Mr Koome.
It takes him between two and three days to draw a human portrait but says time may vary depending on the size and details needed.
An A4 size human portrait for instance will take him two days to complete while A1 takes two weeks.
Passionate Koome, who hails from Isiolo, enjoys drawing for both leisure and income and earns at least Sh30, 000 on a good month.
“I sell my portraits between Sh2, 000 and Sh10, 000 depending on the size,” Mr Koome told The Press Point.
He says despite encountering several challenges, he has always found a reason to continue doing what he loves.
He recalls an instance when he tried to find his way to present a portrait to Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi and Agriculture CS Peter Munya during a political meeting convened by President Uhuru Kenyatta only for him to be blocked by police officers manning the entrance to the venue.
When he tried persuading them to be allowed in, the officers forcefully took the framed portraits from him and ordered him away.
“It was the most devastating moment of my life. I left filled with anger and did not even wait for the President to arrive,” he recalls.
Apart from human beings, Mr Koome loves drawing wild animals and buildings whose demand he says has not been high as that of portraits.
He markets and sells his products online on Eliasco Komz Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.
The artist says though not everyone appreciates what he does, he intends to start offering drawing classes in the near future.
“Apart from making money through art, it is also a way of doing therapy for oneself so I enjoy it a lot,” he said adding that Youtube has been resourceful as he gets to learn more ideas from other artists.
Koome says the country is full of young people with great potential who if empowered, can be self-reliant and contribute immensely to the growth of the economy and help address the unemployment and drug abuse menace.
He appealed to young people to stay focused and patient with their dreams and not to give up.
