by Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 27 March 2018)
Patrick
Mukabi is a man in demand.
The artist
who’s also known as ‘Uncle Supuu’ to TV viewers of the ‘Know Zone’ on Saturday
mornings, was busy this week teaching art at both Brookhouse Schools, one in
Karen, the other in Runda. Patrick was working with art teachers Sobia Mughal
and Alice Coupe who occasionally call him to add his special artistic flare to
their classes.
Patrick was
sought after specially this week since the school is having an Arts Week. “This
week we’re focused on the arts, although it’s only drama and visual arts being highlighted
this term,” says Sobia Mughal. “Otherwise, we also have a whole other week
devoted to Music every semester,” she adds, clearly delighted she is working in
a setting that places such a high premium on the arts.
“You must
come this evening to watch three adaptations of Shakespeare plays at
[Brookhouse] Karen,” Sobia adds.
Meanwhile,
Patrick had been showing eight and 10 year olds the painterly technique called
pointillism, after which he had put them to work to produce a mural-sized
painting using a pointillist style of brush stroke.
The
pointillist project had actually started the day before when art teacher Laura
Coupe brought to her class a copy of the George Seurat painting of ‘Sunday
Afternoon in the Park’.
“I picked
that painting because there’s a lot of grass in it, and since we’ve been
waiting for months for grass to finally grow on our grounds, we took the
students outside yesterday [while Patrick was teaching at the Karen branch of
the school] since we finally have green grass of our own,” says Alice.
Outside is
where they attempted to recreate the image of Seurat’s renowned painting so
students could see how an artist can produce paintings based on real life
experience. “Then we got the children sketching the setting in a ‘plain air’
[outdoor] style,” Alice adds.
Sobia’s
brought older ‘BTEC’ art and design students [ages 16-19] from the Karen campus
to see what’s happening at Runda. “The school has ‘cross campus activities’,”
says Sobia whose students fan out that day, some to assist with the mural, others
to attend the early learning class (for 2 and 3 year olds), others to complete
another mural they started last weekend with Sobia.
“The BTEC
program is basically a vocational program. It’s a two year course, equivalent
to A levels,” adds Sobia who was first to enlist Patrick to come teach with her
in Karen. “I actually saw him teaching children’s art at one of the malls in
town. Then I googled him and brought my students to see his work when he was
still at the GoDown,” she adds.
In fact,
Patrick is known to many art teachers around Nairobi since he brings a wide
range of artistic experience with him. Plus he has a special non-pedantic way
of teaching that’s more like mentoring. It’s also why he has scores of aspiring
artists coming to be mentored by him, many hopeful they will one day become as
acclaimed an artist as Patrick is.
Wannabe
artists started following him when he had the studio at the GoDown Art Centre.
Scores came to be mentors, among them artists like Alex Mbevo, Nadia Wamunyu,
Anthony Otieno and many others who are now established in their own rights.
His studio
got so crowded, Patrick eventually had to move over to the spacious studio next
door to the Nairobi Railways Museum which he named the Dust Depo Art Studio.
Dust Depo is
a place that hums with artistic activities. It will be offering children’s art
classes over the Easter holiday. But Patrick won’t be working alone. Several
artists who have been with him to teach children’s art all over town, will also
be on hand to assist. They’ll include Eric ‘Stickky’ Muriuki, Leevans Leeyere
and Mike Nyerere.
The beauty
of Patrick’s approach to teaching art is its simplicity. Using ordinary sticks
of charcoal, he is able to teach children and adults about everything from
perspective and tone to light, shading and shadow (or chiaroscuro).
“That simple
technique has taken me to teach in over 20 countries,” says Patrick who doesn’t
need to mention that his self-effacing warmth, generosity and free spirit also
have something to do with why he’s invited all over the world.
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