Why I Paint

By Alain Muhire

Visual art is my rhythmic breath. A dance of inhales and exhales, where each stroke births beauty born of creation and dreams. In this space, knowledge graciously steps aside, allowing the boundless expanse of imagination to take center stage—meaning that knowing is nothing at all but to imagine is everything. Ever since I embraced the path of a visual artist, my life has been filled with a fresh depth of fascination. With each stroke, I put my being, my heart, and my essence into the brush, exhaling my thoughts onto the canvas.

My artwork is the story of my life. My background is what inspires me. ASYV has provided me with everything I need—supplies and the skilled people who are able to make me shine. Before I started painting, I didn’t know how to define my life. In the past three years, since I arrived here, I have grown in my imagination and dreaming. 

This piece is called Little Charm. I was trying out a new style that uses different colors. For example, the skin isn’t a normal skin color, but many colors. I created a series called “African Children.” They all have this same style. 

I created this painting live during Village Time [our weekly student talent show]. They gave me a theme of anger and depression. I came up with the idea of a person fighting against anger and depression, trying to remove that from their mind.