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Seasoned painter Sammy Lutaya is ranked as one of Kenya’s most prolific visual artist and illustrators. Besides painting and creating artwork to highlight contemporary socio-economic and cultural issues, Sammy has participated at various cultural exchange workshops and exhibitions in different regions of the world. Across Africa, his works have been showcased in Nigeria, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. He has also exhibited beyond the continent in Italy, Australia, and Pakistan.
Sammy has been commissioned on numerous occasions to create paintings for charity. He donates his works for auctions with the proceeds raised given to specific worthy causes. In the year 2010, for example, his art was auctioned by Nairobi Hospital to raise funds for children with heart conditions. In addition to the Nairobi Hospital, Sammy has also been commissioned by a variety of public and private institutions including: The Nairobi Women’s Hospital, Steadman Group (now Ipsos Synovate), Kenya Commercial Bank, BP Shell, Airtel Communication Networks, Radio Africa Group, Kenya Revenue Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority, State House Nairobi, The Youth Fund and Office of the County Government of Nairobi. Most recently, the office of Director of Public Prosecutions commissioned an artwork titled “PORTRAIT OF THE KING” which was presented to the visiting Attorney General of Qatar H.E (Dr) Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri.
Sammy’s streak of creativity, took root when he was barely six years old. At this point, he was already toying with rudimentary sketches and drawings. As he grew older, Sammy stepped up his efforts to learn and perfect pencil work skills. His determination paid off after a chance encounter with a Catholic Nun who taught him numerous basic techniques: how to draw portraits using pencil, working with watercolors and etching on scraper foils. Gradually, he sharpened his proficiency and took up abstract art as his specialty. It was not until he quit a job as a visual arts designer with the International Rescue Committee Visual Aid Programme in South Sudan that he embarked on a fulltime career as an artist.
Sammy is very passionate about art and has been a full time artist for over 20 years. He has won accolades for his art including nomination to the prestigious Sovereign African Art Award in 2012. And most recently nominated to the Bercelona International Art Awards which will take place in November 2022. Sammy’s latest series of Artwork is aptly named ‘Colour Attitude’. These paintings capture his quest to experiment with an assortment of warm, eye-catching, soft and engaging colours. The use of vibrant hues, layered in abstract forms sheds light on the therapeutic value inherent in colour.