Vernon Hamei, 35 from Leta in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and Kaiapit in Morobe Province has rekindled his artistic talent after almost two (2) decades to draw up a sketch of the Late Grand Chief Rt. Hon Sir Michael Somare.
“I did the drawing as an act of gratitude and respect in honour of the Late Grand Chief since I couldn’t think of anything else I could offer from the bottom of my heart to express my deepest gratitude for the great leader he has been for this nation”, said Vernon.
Vernon could remember years ago when he was a kid, his late grandfather was the VIP driver for the Department of Works at that time and he usually was the Late Grand Chief’s choice of drivers whenever the Late Grand Chief visited Lae.
He said with that feeling knowing that one of his family members knew the Late Grand Chief personally, it inspired him to sketch a picture.
“Sadly when my Late Grandfather died in the year 1993, the Late Grand Chief Rt Hon Sir Michael Somare arranged for a helicopter to transport him to Kaiapit, Intoap village in Markham and so the Late Grand Chief has had a huge and great impact in my life”, said Vernon.
Mr Hamei started drawing when he was around 10 years old. He knew he could draw but he really did not venture into that talent he had saying that his focus was somewhere else.
His passion for drawing was rekindled and he started drawing again two (2) weeks ago.
“Drawing is just one of my hobbies but I really hope I can do it professionally and hopefully a lot of people can one day be interested in my artwork”, happily said Vernon.
The only male sibling in a family of 3, Vernon resides in Lae and is married with only one (1) child.
Vernon currently is Self-Employed and left his job some years back to go back to college to study Architecture but unfortunately left College due to personal reasons.
Vernon is also very good with the strings on his guitar. He plays guitar for ‘Lae Jazz Band’, a well-known Lae based pub band who usually performs on private and corporate functions and also do regular gigs around Lae City.
He acknowledged the Lord for the ability to express himself through art and he is still practicing to do what they call ‘Hyper Realistic Drawings’ or drawings that look like photographs and oil on canvas paintings.
In the near future, he hopes to be able to make some money out of his incredible talent.
