Erick Ayoti

When Erick was a small child he loved to watch his mother while she was drawing. “Let´s see which one of us can do the best drawing,” she challenged him, and this was what he loved most. His family was poor and, as they could not pay his school fees, he had to go to Kisumu where his uncle lived. The uncle was happy to support him and offered to pay for his education as an electronic engineer. But Erick would do nothing else but paint. Then they agreed that the uncle should pay his first year at the art school. Here he was lucky – he met a Dutchman who liked his paintings and he offered to sponsor his education as an artist.

Today Erick is 27 years old and he lives with his wife and their little son in the slums on the outskirts of Kisumu. He has no particular place where he sells his paintings, but rumours about his talent have spread from mouth to mouth and he often has customers turning up at his home.

His paintings are built up in oil and pastel and the expression is deeply poetic and romantic.