Collins Omondi Okello, who specializes in pencil drawings, created a portrait of Harvey and posted the work on Twitter. He then sent a tweet to the comedian and urged all of his followers to re-tweet and tag Harvey. And the tweet went viral.
Okello’s dream is to become an internationally known, highly successful artist and he’s using American comedian Steve Harvey to accomplish that dream.
Complete! Pencil drawing of @IAmSteveHarvey. Will be a real boost to my hustle if you have this in your gallery. Waiting with bated breath🙏🙏🙏#steveharveypencil #JaduongArtWorks pic.twitter.com/MRxql0pbKh pic.twitter.com/gk2v7ki3bL
— Collins Omondi Okello (@collimondi) March 1, 2020
“This year, I figured that I needed to do international personalities who inspire me. Last year and previous years, I did local public figures and it resonated well with the local populace. So I decided that if I try international celebrities, I could connect well with the international market.”
In a tweet response back Steve Harvey said, “now I’m looking for you. It would be my honor to have this, what size is it and I’ll be in Joburg and Botswana soon let’s hook up then.”
“It’s overwhelming, it’s humbling, it’s real, it looks like a dream that I will finally meet the man I have dreamt about handing a portrait to”, the Kenyan artist said.
Now I’m looking for you it would be my honor to have this …. what size is it and I’ll be in Joburgh and Botswana soon let’s hook up then https://t.co/GXKbR1fTgM
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) March 1, 2020
The young Kenyan artist says Africa is full of young, talented people who can make a good living through art. The first step to that success is in believing in your talent and having the guts to take a chance on yourself.
“Since there are so many gifted youth, it’s imperative that they put themselves out there for the world to see. You don’t have to have a huge following, but you can leverage the power of social media.”