RICHARD MWIZERWA, is a contemporary artist who believes in bringing to life bold compositions of wildlife, landscapes, sea, skylines, flowers, people and generally nature, using harmonious colors. As an introvert who does not easily open up, the 25-year-old found a solution for communication through drawings, sketches, and paintings, is what he adores. He is a self-taught artist who noticed that he could draw in Primary Three. This is because he had observed that during drawing lessons, he saw common mistakes in his classmates’ work. When he compared their work to his, he was way better, according to his assessment. On many occasions, teachers asked him to assist in drawing diagrams on the blackboard in Geography and Biography lessons mostly. His talent improved through practice. While at Bernadette Secondary School Kamonyi, he started participating in art competitions and emerged the winner at both district and national level, in 2013. Mwizerwa’s mother encouraged him to keep pursuing his talent to a career, and in 2015, met different talented artists who advised him about the professional materials to use. He was able to attend art exhibitions such as “Hobe Rwanda”, “Kwita Izina” where he sold some of his art pieces. The painter started art as a profession in 2015 after completing High School. When he had just started drawing, he focused more on realism art and portraits that earned him some commission. According to him, his thoughts and imaginations, in their specific colors whether dull or colorful, is what he puts straight on canvas. While painting, the artist yearns to tell people stories of peace, environmental conservation, and the beauty of life. In 2017, he started an art studio located in Gikondo dubbed, “A+ Art”. In his free time, he researches about new art techniques and is now able to sell some of his artwork to the USA, Spain, and Germany. As a nature lover, Mwizerwa believes that everything he comes across in life is a beautiful piece of art and is inspired by everything around him. He mostly uses materials like oil paints, acrylics, and mixed media on canvas in different techniques. Most of these, he says, are expensive since they are imported from China and Europe. Mwizerwa’s talent can now sustain him financially without depending on his parents. Growing up, he looked up to Leonardo da Vinci, who is an Italian talented painter and sculptor but he is inspired by anyone who has a successful story behind their talents. For him, art can be a profession young people can earn from if there is enough awareness about the value of it by the media and artists so long as the community understands why they can spend on a piece of art. He also does interior design including home decor, lighting, wall painting, and interior accessories learned through YouTube tutorials. Besides art, Mwizerwa is a graduate with Bachelor’s degree in Marketing at the University of Rwanda.
