Art is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone finds something different beautiful. And so you have to attach importance to something different when you create a work of art for another culture. In Europe, colours have to match, shapes have to match and how you paint makes a difference. Art has reached a level where you don't want to reflect reality as much because you've become too good at
it. Here in Africa, the ideas of a work of art are different. Bright colours, curved shapes and shiny surfaces. The art scene here in Tanzania is very young, but has produced an incomparable style: Tingatinga. The art style is named after its founder Edward Saidi Tingatinga, who started selling his animal paintings in the 1960s. Tingatinga is not the abstract we know. It is far too precise, but still too
curved. It cannot be compared to children's drawings because the techniques are difficult and distinct. Lines are clearly defined, colours clearly chosen, but both would not be chosen by a European. You have to see it to understand it and that is one of the reasons why it is such a popular souvenir from Tanzania. I paint in this style on the pavilion on the farm: zebras, lions, antelopes, hippos and much more. With everything I draw I have to think how it would look in Tingatinga and not in my normal drawing style. Are the legs just thick or curved like a snake? What colour should the shading be? After all this, I am happy that the artwork is well received by the workers and the guests. Some things are still to be drawn and this will be a challenge of its own.
