BY LAURA GRUHLKE | The Statesman There are quite a few things that you can do in two minutes, but is painting a piece one of them? For sophomore, Delphin Niyonkuru, it is.
Delphin Niyonkuru has been speed painting now for two years. However, painting wasn’t anything he ever thought about doing until his high school art teacher thought differently.
After taking what his teacher said into consideration, he went home and started doing some research. That’s when he stumbled upon a video from “America’s Got Talent” that starred a speed painter.
When Niyonkuru first tried it out, it took him around an hour and a half. “I thought, ‘wow they aren’t going to give me that much time,’” Niyonkuru joked.
Now in college, Niyonkuru strives to stand out from his peers. “I like to do things differently from other people,” he said.
Niyonkuru is a very ambitious young man. On top of being a student and speed painter, he is now a representative for Student Association and is involved in four clubs within the Multicultural Center.
One of his biggest motivations in art occurred when he entered in his first competition.
Niyonkuru was really proud of his piece and thinks he should have won, but since there was an essay component attached to the competition, he ended up not placing. His family had just moved to the United States in 2010 and he didn’t speak any English prior to moving here, only French. This caused some difficulty when it came to the essay portion of the competition.
Despite not placing in the competition, the judges chose his piece to be featured on their billboard, a place usually chosen for the grand prize winners’ piece.
“That was one thing that really pushed me to keep doing it over and over,” Niyonkuru said.
Art is still something that he hopes to have throughout his life. However, as a current computer science and graphic design student his ultimate goal is to create the first “smart” house or office.
“I’m not trying to limit myself to just art,” he said.
Niyonkuru still occasionally does live speed painting performances. He mentions how he often either has music playing, people dancing or even performing martial arts while he is painting.
“I don’t want the audience to be bored, so I have another performance within the performance,” he said.
In 10 years he hopes to be done with school and starting his own graphic design business. He plans to start buying houses within the next couple of years to make a profit and eventually use them as his smart houses.
“Well, I’m a dreamer,” Niyonkuru said.