The drawing pastor uses Bible to feed souls, pencil to earn a living

A young city preacher is using the Bible to nourish spiritually hungry souls and a pencil to eke out a living.
Alpha Eric Mwendwa is pastor at House of Mercy Prophetic Church in Ruiru. But when he is not nourishing souls, he is a pencil portrait artist.

He started his preaching under another preacher but with time, his calling grew and 10 years later he has never looked back.

“That was after completing college. I decided to continue with preaching, which was my calling since I was young. I started under an established preacher to gain experience. That is important as pastors must go through theology lessons,” he told The Nairobian.

Even though he had another talent – drawing – he felt the art would not take him as far as he envisioned.
“That is because I was born prematurely and while in the incubator, I was exposed to harsh light that affected my eyesight but I was treated. However, that left me with impairment to date that forces me to use a lot of light when drawing,” he said.

In church, he focuses on services and invitations to spread the word, not only from the pulpit but also online to reach other parts of the world.

Unlike other artists who spend about a day on artwork, Mwendwa takes four days to complete a portrait due to his eyesight problem and, depending on size, he charges between Sh2,000 and Sh7,000 for a complete portrait with framing and delivery.

His portraits come in black and white or coloured, depending on the taste of the buyer.
“I went back to drawing in 2017 when a side business that I was running with a friend was robbed twice. Afterwards, I was employed in another shop from which I saved some money so that I could buy stuff for my artwork,” he said.

“Around that time, I drew a portrait of MP George Theuri using a red pen since I had not bought materials and he appreciated my work. The same year, I drew President Uhuru Kenyatta and waited for a chance when he was campaigning on Twitter and sent the portrait to his inbox,” said Mwendwa.

Mwendwa said he got a call to deliver the portrait to State House but when he arrived, the Head of State was away on a campaign trail in Mount Kenya.
“I was told he usually gets briefs and gifts when he returns, even though no one has ever called me back. But that gave me some confidence and encouragement to continue with my work,” he said.
Bishop Sammy Rukwaro of House of Mercy Prophetic Church said he has known the artist since he was a child and he trained him to preach.

“He is a very talented preacher who I groomed and now one of my pastors. I really thank God for that,” said Rukwaro.
He added: “A while back, he painted my portrait. That’s how I saw him growing up and I’m now glad to see him prospering. He is a consistent and an efficient person in ministry.”