I fell in love with this original painting by the talented Zachariah Mbutha when I saw it in Nairobi, Kenya 4 years ago Well, I promised that I would write some more about East African art after my last post about it (which you can read over here), so here you go ….
Of all the paintings we have in our home, this one is my absolute favourite. It hangs above our bed (truth be told, I changed the entire décor/colours of our bedroom to fit in with this painting - using the gorgeous deep rust colour of the clothing which the lady in it is wearing as inspiration).
The lady in the painting (there is a man standing some distance behind her) is taking water in a tin bucket to quench the thirst of drought stricken wildlife, which include a rhinoceros, an elephant and some kind of buck.
The artist is an extremely talented Kenyan man by the name of Zachariah Mbutha, & we bought this piece in Nairobi, Kenya 4 years ago. Zachariah is a contemporary artist and has been painting images of sculpted figures since 1979. His paintings are made up of a patterned mosaic of paint marks, and most depict the struggle of modern African life. He likes to cover the issues of conservation, hunger and poverty in his works and his paintings can be found in art collections around the world.
As with everything in my home, there is a story behind this painting and how we came to own it …………
When I was 4 months pregnant with my daughter, my husband & I were in Nairobi for a few days break as I was having one of my check-up’s at a hospital there to see that everything was on track. It was around the time of my birthday, and we were staying at The New Stanley Hotel which is one of our favourite hotels to stay at when we are in the city. It is in the centre of the city, and is within walking distance (not even a block) of one of our favourite Nairobi restaurants, the Italian ‘Trattoria’ Restaurant.
Anyway, during the walk to/from the hotel and the restaurant, there is a small, simple shop which sells original Kenyan art that we always pass. We would often stop and browse in the window both on the way to and back from the restaurant, and it was during one of these (midnight !) walks that I spotted this painting displayed in the window, and I commented to my husband that I really liked it.
A couple of days later, it was my birthday and the hotel baked me a surprise chocolate birthday cake, which they had delivered to our room with a card and a gorgeous glass bowl filled with fresh fruit. (Chocolate cake or fruit ? It was a hard decision to make – ha ha !) My husband disappeared downstairs a little while later, and then returned with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me, and a long gift wrapped cardboard tube. Imagine my surprise when I opened it and found the painting which I had so admired inside !
We had it framed in a Mninga (local wood) frame when we returned to Tanzania & I was really happy with the way it turned out – it’s very special to me & always reminds me of that special birthday I spent in Nairobi, and of course, has a wonderful story behind it which I plan to relate to my daughter one day when she’s old enough to understand !
Of all the paintings we have in our home, this one is my absolute favourite. It hangs above our bed (truth be told, I changed the entire décor/colours of our bedroom to fit in with this painting - using the gorgeous deep rust colour of the clothing which the lady in it is wearing as inspiration).
The lady in the painting (there is a man standing some distance behind her) is taking water in a tin bucket to quench the thirst of drought stricken wildlife, which include a rhinoceros, an elephant and some kind of buck.
The artist is an extremely talented Kenyan man by the name of Zachariah Mbutha, & we bought this piece in Nairobi, Kenya 4 years ago. Zachariah is a contemporary artist and has been painting images of sculpted figures since 1979. His paintings are made up of a patterned mosaic of paint marks, and most depict the struggle of modern African life. He likes to cover the issues of conservation, hunger and poverty in his works and his paintings can be found in art collections around the world.
As with everything in my home, there is a story behind this painting and how we came to own it …………
When I was 4 months pregnant with my daughter, my husband & I were in Nairobi for a few days break as I was having one of my check-up’s at a hospital there to see that everything was on track. It was around the time of my birthday, and we were staying at The New Stanley Hotel which is one of our favourite hotels to stay at when we are in the city. It is in the centre of the city, and is within walking distance (not even a block) of one of our favourite Nairobi restaurants, the Italian ‘Trattoria’ Restaurant.
Anyway, during the walk to/from the hotel and the restaurant, there is a small, simple shop which sells original Kenyan art that we always pass. We would often stop and browse in the window both on the way to and back from the restaurant, and it was during one of these (midnight !) walks that I spotted this painting displayed in the window, and I commented to my husband that I really liked it.
A couple of days later, it was my birthday and the hotel baked me a surprise chocolate birthday cake, which they had delivered to our room with a card and a gorgeous glass bowl filled with fresh fruit. (Chocolate cake or fruit ? It was a hard decision to make – ha ha !) My husband disappeared downstairs a little while later, and then returned with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me, and a long gift wrapped cardboard tube. Imagine my surprise when I opened it and found the painting which I had so admired inside !
We had it framed in a Mninga (local wood) frame when we returned to Tanzania & I was really happy with the way it turned out – it’s very special to me & always reminds me of that special birthday I spent in Nairobi, and of course, has a wonderful story behind it which I plan to relate to my daughter one day when she’s old enough to understand !
