BIOGRAPHY

I am Edel Akotchi a self-taught, Kenyan based, visual artist and legal counsel.

Academic Background

I graduated with the bachelor's degree in law from the university and later pursued a postgraduate diploma at the Kenya school of law, after which I got admitted to the bar. I have had legal experience in criminal, administrative, human rights, labour and corporate law.

My experience in legal practice has definitely Influenced and may continue to influence the subject matter of my paintings and how I think as an artist.

Early Creative Experience

In my early teens I dreamt of becoming an author, having read many books at a young age. It was difficult to have my first book published at the time and that led me to stop writing.

Notably my first book titled "Eleanor's Destiny" somewhat revealed what I subconsciously really was - a painter. The book was about a young girl who was a painter and despite being good at it, took it casually until her family circumstances changed.

I entirely abandoned writing stories and took up poetry in my teens. It was up until I was 19 when I started to feel the urge to paint, that I did my first painting in watercolor on paper of Tigger from Winnie the pooh.

In my early twenties I focused on my legal education and experimented painting landscapes in acrylics. Initially, I thought I would become a landscape artist based off my love for nature. I painted around five landscape paintings in 2013 and that's when everything began to change.

I started having random surreal images come to mind as I went about my day. I stopped painting entirely because I felt incapable of painting the images in my head, since I had never been to art school. I got into legal practice but my urge to continue painting persisted.

In 2019, I tried painting portraits in oil, and I was baffled at how well they turned out. I revisited a page in the book I wrote and realized that subconsciously I knew I had the ability to paint, and it is from painting portraits that I became consciously aware of it.

In late 2021 I took a leap of faith and decided to start creating my body of works.

Painting Experience

With each painting I paint, I have no idea what I am actually doing. This rings true the quote by Michelangelo:

"A man paints with his brain and not with his hands"

I have learnt to allow everything to flow organically and to be patient in my creative process. At the beginning stages of a painting, I have sometimes questioned the colors I would intuitively be drawn to use but in the end the painting always happened for me not against me, if only I don't resist the creative direction.

The images I get in my head are never particular as to the details and color of the subject matter hence I never know what a painting would look like at the end, just what it would entail, which sometimes changes or adds to itself during my studio sessions.

I have also mastered having self-control and letting go of perfectionism when painting, as I also avoid conscious thought. This allows me to paint purely what I see in my head and to accept every part of a painting as it arrives and not conceal my struggles or shortcomings.

I see a lot of humor in my current and future paintings as each one tells its own narrative. Some paintings I am aware of the inspiration behind them even though not entirely, but for most of them I have no idea what they are about. To an audience each painting could mean absolutely anything depending on an individual's perception.

I exclusively work with oil paint on canvas because it's the perfect medium for my artistic approach. The slow drying time aligns perfectly with my style, offering me the space to create with patience and precision. It also fosters a deeply personal and immersive experience during my creative process.