Stephen Njenga, born in 1962 in Thogoto, Kenya went to primary and secondary school near his kikuyu home. While in secondary school, he developed a keen interest in art and began to seriously pursue his creative arts talents. He went on to attend the creative arts center in Nairobi for three years, studying fine arts. While in arts school, he exhibits some of his work at City Hall in 1982 and the Sarit Center in 1984. In 1984, he graduated from the college with a degree in fine arts.
After finishing art school, Stephen worked as a freelance artist and apprentice in interior designing and illustrations for independent contractors. Simultaneously, he worked as a design teacher at Kay’s College Secondary School. His training in art school and pratical experience helped him to develop his unique style of painting and refined his use of colours and other mediums. Stephen paints animals on canvas, exploring the shapes, textures and forms of the patterns on giraffes, zebras and other indigenous animals of Kenya. He paints what he calls ‘Semi Abstracts’ in which he makes jig-saw compositions of interlocking shapes experimenting with different combinations of colour., texture and form painting. He is mostly interested in portraying African moods, his themes centering around their livelihoods and survival.
Among numerous exhibitions in the country, his paintings have been exhibited in the United States, Netherlands, and are also in Permanent Show at the Museum of Volkerkunde, Frunkfurt.
