Back in high school, Prince Ishimwe was inspired by Greek art and Renaissance art, which can be found in the history of art. The 20-year-old says it all started when as students they would take part in drawing images and diagraphs amongst themselves. Sometimes, he says, they would make sketches and give the teacher to award marks for the one who did it better. “This is how I started growing my passion for visual art, and ever since I never stopped drawing as I found it fulfilling and at the same time, I would feel relieved after communicating through art,” he says. He says his passion grew when he joined Ecole d’Arts de Nyundo in 2016 to study graphic arts. From there, he started considering himself as an artist. From school, he gained more skills in art historically and practically. Ishimwe says he decided to turn his creativity and skills into something beautiful by putting down images that resonate with others. To him, art is the platform he uses to express his inner feelings to society. The artist uses social media platforms to share his creations. “Through art, it helps me think big because while you are drawing, you must make something new and special that may attract people and this is what keeps me going,” he says. The 20-year-old is a first-year student at University of Rwanda, doing creative design. He studies and does his artwork at the same time. His artworks are based on animals and human portraits. He chose animals and humans because they are fascinating, he says, he wanted to draw and bring them to life in his daily artwork. “I believe that many people also love animals too, as they drive deep joy, companionship, and healing from them,” he says. In a nutshell, Ishimwe says animals and humans in art were the quick inspiration that came to his mind as a weapon he would want to use in giving messages to society. While drawing, Ishimwe says he prefers to use watercolours, coloured pencils, and ballpoint pens as his medium. “During my drawing session my emotions and feelings play a bigger role than reality. This, I believe, makes visual attention among viewers and helps them to talk with my artwork,” he says. Moving forward Ishimwe says doing art has taken his mind off of negative emotions and instead; it has allowed him to express his feelings in a more productive way. He now focuses on how to improve his artwork through studies; which helps him as well to concentrate on his plans of becoming a great visual artist. Some of Ishimwe’s artworks. He focuses on human and animals portraits. Currently, Ishimwe uses social media platforms to share his artwork and communicate with his fans as he plans to open up a gallery soon. As a conservation artist, he says he anticipated coming up with his own art gallery not only to sell his artworks but also to support the wildlife conservation sector by educating people about the beauty of the environment through art. Through the commissions he gets from his work, Ishimwe can now cater to his basic needs and has seen him become independent.
