Multidisciplinary artist Lynn Waithaka is exploring an experimental practice by using different materials to see how the same idea changes in form and expression. She is also interested in how subtle changes in the same idea can convey different emotions or states.
Her introduction to making started with small craft activities during childhood, where she created simple objects using cardboard and wrapping paper while following online tutorials.
A lover of unique and beautiful things, she would add simple drawings and lines to personalise her work, a process she identifies as the beginning of her artistic path.
After high school, she initially considered interior design but went on to pursue a diploma in fine arts and design.
Her practice is exploratory and process-driven, where she works with different mediums, as she does not want to settle too early into one style only to later feel restricted or need to change direction.
“It’s about trying, failing, adjusting, and being open to unexpected outcomes. It helps me grow in many ways and learn how and where to perfect with the mistakes created,” she says.
She experiments through repetition and material exploration of the same subject matter, revisiting the same image or idea multiple times to observe how it shifts through different approaches.
Take for instance, she has been working on the same portrait for about six months now, and the outcome is new every time. This comes from working with compressed charcoal, soft charcoal, oil pastels, soft pastels, and acrylics on various paper surfaces.
“I also use different kinds of papers to experiment on these mediums, and that is how I am able to determine the kind of paper I like and what medium works better on it,” she explains.
In her approach to materials, she uses one or two mediums a month to understand them deeply and make decisions about what to continue using in the future.
While some works begin with a clear idea, others change when she is in the studio. Sometimes, she says, she wakes up with an idea and ends up doing something else. At other times, she develops work from sketches or background preparations that turn into paintings.
Materials influence everything, including mood and meaning. She explores the same idea in multiple ways, which prevents her work from being static. Each medium teaches her something new, including patience, as some take time to dry.
“The same idea can feel completely different depending on whether it’s done in pencil, watercolour, or acrylic,” she notes.
She also observes that texture in her work currently depends on acrylic paint. Whenever she wants texture in her artworks, she uses acrylic paint, since it is the only medium she has extensively experimented with that produces it. As it dries, she brainstorms new ideas or reassesses her process.
In Hustle series 1/7, an oil painting on canvas, she depicts a solitary vendor in a small space, focusing on everyday labour and resilience. In another untitled portrait in compressed charcoal, she uses strong contrast and minimal background detail to highlight expression and depth.
Not feeling that her artistic voice is fully formed, Waithaka is still figuring out what artistic voice even means. Being in an experimental phase is important to her practice, as it allows for surprise and change.
“I used to think my thinking had to be fixed, but now I see it as something that grows and changes as I do,” she says.