Nairobi — Huge portraits on the rusty iron-sheet walls of a tiny shack behind United Mall in Kisumu town scream for attention. A peek into the structure reveals more portraits and landscape paintings.

One depicts a lanky man busy at work on a metallic signpost leaning against one of the walls.

It is actually his own portrait painted a few weeks ago, he says as he pours some paint from a mineral water bottle turned oil paint receptacle onto a metal sheet that has been improvised for a palette.

The humble structure gives no indication of its function as a workshop. The tattered reed mat, reinforced with a transparent polythene sheet, serves as the roof. Nothing covers the soil, leaving the floor dusty.

After sitting his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination at Kisumu boys high school two years ago, George Odongo could not proceed to college due to lack of fees.

He had to look for a way of not only earning some money for himself, but also helping his parents and siblings.

Rather than begin looking for employment, he followed his heart, and has not looked back since.

Right from primary school, the 21-year-old has always had a passion for drawing and painting. "I won many awards at art and craft competitions," he says.

The most memorable of the trophies was a pair of shoes, a schoolbag and cash, the top prize at a competition organised by a local shoe polish company.

When he got to secondary school, he went easy on the contests owing to the increased academic load.

The closest he ever got to indulging in his hobby were fine art classes.

It is in high school that he met and interacted with artists who have been a great influence and inspiration to him.

He singles out two art teachers, whom he calls only Ms Patricia and Ms Jane, and whom he says were talented artists who did not just teach theory.

To the teachers, whom he says he has immense respect for, they were more than just students.

"They would invite art students to see portraits that they had painted, and also took our opinions seriously," he recalls. His class was also taken to visit established artists' workshops regularly for practical lessons.

It is during such visits that he met Kisumu-based artists Geko and Morio.

The two, who he says are no longer actively involved in art, were a great influence on him. They ignited in him the desire to follow in their footsteps.

And so, upon completing secondary school and without the promise of proceeding to college, Odongo took up art. But he did not have enough room at their Manyatta home to unleash his creative talent. After along search, the young school-leaver decided to establish his own workshop.

"I picked on an empty space at the roadside and erected the structure in 2004," he says. Here I could not only paint but also display my finished works to attract buyers."

It has not been all bliss though at his workshop. He has had frequent run-ins with municipal council askaris, who accuse him of putting up the structure without a permit.

"I am only using this spot as a temporary working area, since I do not have anywhere else to go," he says.

But even if he was kicked out of the workshop, Odongo is confident he would still get another site.

He vows not to relent. He plans to set up a larger studio in the town, but is currently keen on pursuing specialised training in fine art.

But he rues that lack of academic papers has stood between him and a bright future.

"I have been approached by academic institutions twice to teach fine art, but all these offers have been hampered by lack of certificates, which is usually a condition for such appointments.

"The academic papers will give me the bargaining power to guard against exploitation," he says.

Moreover, he wants to avoid being hidden whenever school inspectors are around, as is usually the case with untrained teachers.

Then there is the danger of getting complacent after he secures employment without papers.

"It could kill my enthusiasm for pursuing further education, which would predispose me to the mercy of school administrations."

Odongo is determined to get at least a diploma in fine start. Already, he has identified Nairobi's Buru Buru Institute of Fine Art as a possible college and has been there for interviews.

He has secured a place at the college but is yet to join due to his shaky financial position.

As he looks for the money, art has been a source of income for the first born in a family of seven. He says he pays all his bills from sale of his pieces.

"My earnings depend on the volume of sales that I make, but I make an average of Sh8,000 monthly," he says. This he raises from portraits, landscapes, murals and sign-writing.

He is also engaged in face painting jobs at events, and does mosaic, collage and interior decorations.

Odongo is currently trying out beadwork, a venture he was recently introduced to by a friend. He gets jobs by referrals from clients, and sometimes gets approached by passers-by.

In May, last year, he was contracted by a foreign preacher holding crusades in the lakeside town to produce 20 portraits. Later in the same month, he made sign-posts for the Kisumu airport.

Substandard works

But the artist takes issue with some colleagues who, he says, compromise the trade through substandard works at low rates.

"These artists lower prices and give us a bad name with clients who blame all of us for the shoddy job," he rues.

In addition, lack of appreciation for art in the country bothers him. He wishes art galleries were set up all over the country for artists like him to display their works. The galleries, he says, would also provide the opportunity for artists to exchange ideas and learn from one another.

He adds that some artists have abandoned the trade for lack of support by the Government.

His siblings are also art lovers and are taking after him. "They tell me that they volunteer to draw complicated diagrams on the blackboard for their teachers," he says proudly.

They also critique his new pieces and sketches. So far though, none of them is fully involved in art, which he terms a special gift from God.