Sky Issa

Sky Issa was Mwera by tribe. He has learned to paint by watching E.S.Tingatinga. He died around 1989. He lived in Msasani in Dar es Salaam but later he moved to Kawe, north of the city. He had struggled as a painter though he was very skilled. So he stopped to paint even though his fellow painters tried to convince him to continue.

His wife and one child left him too. It is said they moved to south Tanzania, village of Nachingwea.

He was introduced to Tinga Tinga art by Simon Mpata whom he met at a restaurant, probably in Msasani. At that time Sky Issa was a gardener.

Sky Issa was born in Nachingwea. He came to Dar es Salaam to follow his sister.

Some people doubted that Sky Issa was a painter. The reason is that he was always clean. He never spilled a color and even when painting he was dressed in a very decent way. He was often painting at home. It fueled the suspicion that he was not painting.

Probably, Sky Issa´s wife and a child still lives in Nachingwea in south Tanzania