Award-winning Kenyan artist Sheila Sheldone Charles,10, in the company of her mother, Sergeant Vivian Otieno, spent their Easter holiday visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
Museveni took to Twitter posting photos of himself with Sheldone and her mother in his private residence in Rwakitura during their visit that came after a request she made to him last month.
In his tweet, he reiterated, "Nine-year-old Sheldone is a visual artist. In Mombasa, she offered me a painting and requested to visit me during the Easter holidays."
In another tweet the Ugandan head of state noted, "My muzukulu from Mombasa, Sheila Sheldone Charles, visited me in Rwakitura with her mother as we agreed she would when I met her during my recent state visit to Kenya."
“Talent of whatever form should be nurtured alongside formal education. I thank her for the gifts she brought me.”
In the photos by Museveni, Sheila, her mother and Uganda's First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni seemed to be having a great time.
Sheldone’s work has continued to gain fame both locally and internationally despite her tender age.
In 2018, she received the Tese Foundation, Youngest Lioness Award for her artistic prowess that continues to catch the attention of art enthusiasts globally.
The artist, who lives in her parent’s home in Nyali, Mombasa, continues to grow her home gallery with beautiful portraits that she does when she is not in school.
Some of the portraits of popular persons she worked on include former US President Barack Obama, rights activist Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Oprah Winfrey.
“Some portraits can take me up to one month to finish while others can take me minutes or hours, depending on what I am tasked to draw,” she reiterated earlier this year in an interview with the Nation.
Sheldone mainly promotes her work via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
