Makiwa Mutomba (born 1976 in Zimbabwe) is a true master at expressing emotion and movement in oils, all by way of a simple tool (paint scraper) to give a pallete knife effect. While the images on this website give you a glimpse of the paintings, nothing can compare to seeing the real thing. When you come face to face with the original canvases, in a properly lit art gallery, you will experience the passion and energy that go into creating his works. Once described by art critic Peter Machen as being “paradoxically precise”, its easy to see why Makiwa has become one of South Africa’s most sought after painters.

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Makiwa showed an excellent ability to draw at an early age. It was not until his third year at university in 1999 where he was studying Electronics Engineering that he quit studies and started painting pictures for a living. Moving from Bulawayo to Harare, which is the commercial capital of the country, and then on to the resort town of  Victoria falls, where he sold miniature paintings at the roadside to tourists ( hanging paintings from tree branches) . It was at this time that Makiwa developed a love for the knife as a painting tool.  He has had successful solo and group shows in South Africa, USA,  Germany, London, France and India and has done a number of commissions for private collectors.  His oil paintings are painted exclusively with a knife, no brushes.