The woman who has broken the glass ceiling in the fine arts market

 Kakamega Artist Linda Indakwa at work panting for a client to earn
a living. Photo | Pool

What you need to know:

  • Linda Daisy Indakwa, 31 is an artist who ekes out a living in the male-dominated profession of fine arts, while raising three children
  • ‘One of the biggest challenges as a woman artist is that at times clients doubt my abilities because of my gender. Sometimes clients want to pay less because I am a woman and one who is soft-spoken’

"I was separated from my mom when I was just nine and ended up being raised by my relatives until I was 14.

I hadn't also met my father, and so after my KCPE, in 2004, I decided to look for him. Though I had never seen him, I knew his name and there was a rumour on where he worked.

I searched for his work address on a telephone directory and made a reverse call from a telephone booth. Coincidentally, it's my father who picked the call. He was so excited when I introduced myself. When he came to pick me from my maternal uncle's place, he showed me off to his friends and family.

Kakamega Artist Linda Indakwa with some of the magazines she
visualises. Photo | Pool

He took me in and saw me through high school, but when I was just about to sit for my KCSE, I had issues with my stepmother, and I was not able to go back home. In 2008 I sat for my KCSE exams and passed and managed a mean grade of a B-. Financial constraints meant I couldn't proceed to the university. From primary school, I would be requested to draw diagrams on the blackboard by teachers. But it was only in high school that I discovered I was talented in art, and so I joined the art class and topped the class. I would paint drama backdrops and write calligraphy on certificates, and I loved it.


Due to my talent, as well as my proximity to Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts (BIFA), I was allowed to use the institution's facility, though the Dean of studies there advised me to enroll at a university for Art and Design because in his opinion my grades were high and my talent was remarkable.

In 2009, I used the skills I had acquired since high school to make some money and paid for my certificate course at the institution. 


After the certificate course, I became an apprentice in an art studio at Jericho market, in Nairobi. For 13 years now, I have been doing fine arts. It entails portraiture, sculpture, murals, wall hangings, interior decor, fabric decoration, and beadwork. I do portraits, African art, and abstract wall hangings. To increase my earnings, I also do face painting during events, beadwork, branding, tutoring children, and selling wall hangings.

Normally, I use oil paint on canvas for portraits and the client sends me photos of their choice for reference. I frame the painting and deliver it via courier service. For murals, (large wall paintings), I use ladders depending on the height of the walls. I also paint wall hangings with abstract themes to voice my opinions and to express my ideas as an artist. From these artworks and the beaded jewelry, I sell in hotels and exhibitions, I have been able to make a good living.


My major break was in 2014 when I held an exhibition in Nanyuki. I got an invitation from a client who owns a lodge and had seen my artworks at Lavington Green. After the exhibition, I got more invites to restaurants because the artwork was eye-catching and Nanyuki has many foreign visitors.

Presently, I get a contract almost fortnightly depending on the period. The market tends to fluctuate, but when I'm not servicing a contract, I exhibit. Lately, I have been holding exhibitions in hotels, restaurants, and interior design spaces.

Though I am proud of my achievements, it has been far from easy. First, I got my firstborn when I was only 21. Being a young mother, meant that things were tough as I wasn't financially independent. What made things even worse was that I wasn't able to work since I couldn't stand the smell of oil-based paints, and other mediums. But during this tough period, my maternal relatives stepped in.

One of the biggest challenges as a woman artist is that at times clients doubt my abilities because of my gender. Sometimes clients want to pay less because I am a woman and one who is soft-spoken.

Getting materials is a problem too because there are few dealers. We have to wait for a new consignment to arrive since the dealers have to ship in items.

However, the biggest con as a mother has been being away from my children especially when I have to travel for work. My firstborn is in grade five, my second born is in pre-primary 2, and my third born is a year old.

When I am not working, I make the most time for them since they are the push behind my hard work.

My family has been my pillar in all this. Though I have differed my university studies for some time now due to funds, I still hope to enroll one day. I volunteer in youth camps and children's homes by giving art therapy to children going through trauma. Art is therapeutic and helps them express their hidden fears and hopes. I have also been helping in youth team-building activities. I aspire to teach talented children, especially street kids, art so that they too can make a living."


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