Positive energy. It can drive people far, pushing them to not give up on what they are good at even when faced with hindrance. Like Valentin Nzeyimana, known professionally as Valentin Izere. The digital artist was inspired by the society he lived in to draw through observation and imagination, and to his surprise, people that viewed his art were amazed.

In his mind, he wondered if he would ever go far with this as a career. But his doubts didn’t stop him from drawing, and he continued to perfect his craft.

Although he yearned to make money from art, his passion for painting crushed it. He decided to follow his heart, as art brings him peace, something he says he has never regretted.

"I followed my heart to do art and I realised that I would have been wrong if I had dropped it. Like the way the clouds in the blue sky capture a great image, that’s the kind of art I want to show the world. I draw so that people visualise the world through my painting,” he says.

 Some of his work.

The 19 year-old gained more skills at Nyundo School of Art and Music where he graduated this year. He says that every artist has his or her area of interest, and digital art is his, where he symphonically plays with colour that captures his thoughts. The artwork depicts socio-cultural events, a source of inspiration.

He is also fascinated by wildlife. "I really love animals, and when I have a great idea to work on, I do my best to bring it out in paint,” he says.

The youngster notes that digital art doesn’t hinder him from trying other art forms. He also does traditional paintings and pencil drawings.  

As far as role models are concerned, he doesn’t have one in particular, because each and every artist has that one thing he picks from them regarding skill and inventiveness.

Izere says that art is just like music, the more you practice, the more you improve. Practice and learning from other artists has made him who he is today.

When it comes to competition with other artists, he says that he strives to be imaginative and open to viewers. 

According to the artist, one thing that makes him unique is that he loves to mess things up because curiosity is key to creativity.

"Though some people love my work, one challenge I face is that some of these people don’t understand or know how to interpret what I paint,” he says. 

He, therefore, has to explain the idea behind the artwork, making them understand the paintings.

Regarding digital art, Izere says that he made numerous mistakes while learning to draw since he used wrong options in the app, it took patience, and eventually, he learned from his blunders.

He is looking forward to using his talent to earn a living. He also wants to help society promote and understand art, that way, upcoming artists can easily earn from their work.  

His portraits can be found at Envision Media Arts Collective and Ivuka Arts Gallery.