Beyond the paint and the brush.

Written by Lweendo Kalonga

For thousands, maybe even millions of years, art has been a form of expression of

thoughts, ideas and, even culture. From the most primitive cave paintings to traditional

artworks and even works generated by artificial intelligence. In modern times, people have

gradually moved to using fewer traditional ways of making art. That is to say, digital art has become the norm for many artists. Many may not know this but digital art was first used in the early 1980s when computer engineers devised a paint program which was used by the pioneering digital artist Harold Cohen. He made use of a robotic machine to draw on large sheets of paper in a program he called AARON.

Nowadays, it is common to come across work by digital artists on various social media

sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, to name a few. An artist certainly on the rise

for greatness is Natasha Mwila, also known by her Instagram tag mwila_art. Ms. Mwila is a

Lusaka-based contemporary artist and model. Her art commonly has a thought-provoking

message with the incorporation of bright colors, dark tones and intricate patterns. Each of

her pieces is unique, beautiful and displays how elegance can be birthed from talent.

We had an interview with her to get her perspective on the topic surrounding digital art, this is

what was exchanged;

Can you discuss some of the ways in which your art could be used in the education sector?

"I am not exactly sure how I can answer this question because I generally don’t create art to

be taught in the educational sector nor do I create art for the purpose of teaching. Though it

would be a beneficial subject added to the educational sector, it will promote creative

thinking and skills that can be applied in different sectors."

What is your approach to creating art that is both thought-provoking, visually striking and

meaningful?

"I use my phone to create the digital artworks I do. I don’t use advanced software. I use pics

art and Snapseed to help in the creation process. Mostly I would take a period of 2-3 hours

to compose one picture."

Describe a real-life situation that inspired you to make any two of your favorite works.

"I have always been interested in the act of creating, which I enjoyed at a very young age

and till now I still like to do it. The act of creating is limitless and that’s the beauty of it. It’s

really a hobby of mine."

What level of artistry do you aspire to reach? Or what great artist would you aspire to be

compared to?

Well, I don’t have any influences pertaining to my artwork, I get inspiration from everyday

life, interactions with various people, site seeing, and watching tv shows, etc. My only desire

or goal is to reach a point where I diversify my creative abilities and use more mediums to

create.

We hope to see more of Ms. Mwila's work in the near future, maybe an exhibit is

something in the works. Do take some time to visit her Instagram page to check out more of

her artwork.

Instagram;

Mwila_art