Benard's Story  

           

          It was about 3am when Ty and I came back to his home in Mpigi, Uganda from the airport. As we turned the lights on, the first thing that grabbed my eyes' gaze were the beautiful paintings on every wall of the room. They were so unique, colorful, and so full of personality and life. Each one had a theme and beautified the room with the simplicity yet complexity of the strokes. "Yeah Benard painted those!" Ty said to me. At that point we knew Benard's talent just had to be shown to people elsewhere! 

                                                                                                 Benard's love for creating pieces of art came early on and he 

                                                                                            ended up studying art in school. His shop in Kampala, Uganda is

                                                                                            proof of his artistic passion whether it's with realistic or abstract

                                                                                            pieces. The most unique part of Benard's art is that he makes

                                                                                            everything out of recycled and/or natural materials such as tree

                                                                                            bark and old unwanted pieces of cloth. He even has a part of the

                                                                                            store where he uses recycled tires to make sustainable and

                                                                                            durable shoes for the Ugandan people. The video below shows

                                                                                            some of his friends working on the sandals. (I managed to grab a

                                                                                            pair and I must say, they are super fashionable but also so

durable!) Benard carves pieces of wood with a nail to make art, makes design templates for t-shirts and helmets, and creates sustainable planting pots. There is no limit what Benard can do given just a few materials. 

 

          Benard has great talent; there is no doubt. However, to further his career, Benard needs equipment. Benard has been wanting a camera to take his talent to the next level and get even more realistic paintings to create a portfolio, and we want to help him out! Sooooo, we brought his paintings back to the United States to create a greater impact with the help of all of you! 

 

The Shop in Kampala

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Virtual Shop

 

            All prices are negotiable but let's keep in mind that our impact will be felt all the way across the world to Benard! Let's help him buy a camera to further his art career! Note* These previews are not the entire painting themselves. ALSO, the picture DO NOT do these beautiful paintings any justice, it is so hard to capture the strokes of each one with the camera.

 

With love,

         Levina

 

P.S. 100% of the money is going to Benard, I am not taking any cuts. 

 

TO PURCHASE: Click "Go to link" on the painting of choice to purchase through Etsy or click here to shoot me an email if you know me personally to see the paintings in person and avoid shipping costs.