David always had a passion for art, although he started out as a musician in a band called Roots and Culture, and later a band called Afrisa Ngoma. Later in life he decided to go back to school and become a painter, inspired by his mother who had access to paints at an international school where she worked in childcare. David became a professional wildlife artist in the early 90’s and was inspired much by Mr Lyombo who was a sign writer. He was also lucky enough to meet fellow Blue Zebra artist Ibrahim Pandu who helped him develop his techniques.

Sam was born in the Morogoro region and has 5 siblings. Despite today being one of the greatest artists in Tanzania, he started off his adult life as a mechanic. However, his sister saw his passion for painting and his talent, so from her salary she sent him to Bagamoyo Art School to increase his knowledge. It was here that he started developing his skills and ideas in art.

From Migua village in the Tabora region, Mathew comes from a family of 9 children. He dropped out of school very young due to his family moving around, but he finally settled in Dar es Salaam where he started his painting career. At 9 years old when he was still in school his talent was evident, with teachers regularly asking him to draw maps and diagrams for them. Also, as a young boy he would help his dad who was a carpenter, but he always wanted to paint and at 16 he started his career. He uses many techniques, including brushes, knives, fingers and spoons, and uses many mediums from oil to traditional handmade paints.

Born in Stone Town in Zanzibar, Pandu is the first born of 15 children. He started painting even before he started school, so young he can’t even remember and he was a professional painter by 1987. Pandu as a child would paint using the charcoal from his mother’s fire and leaves, and has he had no access to paints he would improvise with sticks, chicken feathers, flours, tree sap, boiled roots and clothes dyes. He also kept up these practices well into his professional career. He would use his hands to create different techniques and experiment with landscapes, portraits and abstracts. He is a self taught artist whose work is displayed on the walls of Parliament and with the State House of Tanzania.