It was during my four-month stay in Kenya that I rediscovered my love to draw. I stayed in a lovely house with an even more lovely family. The best part of the house was its lovely garden that I rather call paradise, since we had an avocado tree (!!!), banana trees, all kinds of veggies, fruits and herbs that would just grow in the backyard. As I was staying in a suburban area I wasn’t seeing my intern friends a lot on a regular weekend, so the only thing that kept me sane were sports and – you guess – drawing.
Material: A5 130gr wood-free, acid-free and chlorine-free paper, pencil, fineliner and copic markers.
Do you know this feeling when you freak out leaving your save and comfy home for a new adventure, and you wonder: why did you do this?!? Well, this is exactly how I felt the first day in Nairobi. Then I took a pencil and started drawing the beautifully blooming bottle brush tree that was situated in the garden of my new place. Such a great method to calm me down. Drawn 08/2015. © malinart.de / Malin Praktiknjo 2019.
Nairobi turns violet in October! And so did my work campus thanks to all the wonderful Jacaranda Trees. Drawn 11/2015. © malinart.de / Malin Praktiknjo 2019.
A co-worker took us to his home neighborhood in Mathare, where he plans to add a rooftop bar right along the bustling Thika Road. From up there we had a great view on various scenes and interactions between people. Drawn 12/2016. © malinart.de / Malin Praktiknjo 2019.
The rainy season was always a great reason (or excuse?) to get comfy at home on weekends and draw whatever motive I could find, like these pink flowers from the garden. Drawn 10/2015. © malinart.de / Malin Praktiknjo 2019.
I always called my Nairobi home the little paradise. Not only did I live with great people, but also we had this spacious garden where all kinds of trees, flowers and even herbs, fruits and vegetables were growing. Among all those plants was this huge banana tree. Drawn 10/2015. © malinart.de / Malin Praktiknjo 2019.