FRAMED PORTRAIT OF BARACK OBAMA

First of all, if you haven’t seen the movie “Deadpool” Big Sigh, but anyways apologies, to say my internet source provider haven’t frustrated the chakra out of me, I would be lying through my nose. Anywhere you are that isn’t Nigeria, (heck! Africa, unless it’s South Africa, Egypt and the likes) getting fast, stable, reliable internet is no easy task unless you spend a whooping sum. Commissions after commissions almost like a roller-coaster, finally I got to frame one of my personal favourite works and was able to practice on improving my art, currently working on drawing Arsenal’s star attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil (Gonna be so cool!). I’m never in a dilemma when it comes to saving my works or selling them, hey! I can always reproduce them even in a better version.

I have so many projects lined up this year, I hope I can meet up with my expectations but ultimately I hope to acquire my very first Faber Castell classic colour pencils but damn! The Dollar exchange rate to the Naira can make a grown man cry. I hope it falls (if it doesn’t Nigerians will only wail for a while, we all know they are the most adaptable creatures on the planet).  

LIONEL MESSI SKETCH

This is so not recent, at this point during my art training, I was so scared of shading human faces deeply, and felt as if I was defiling the image (hadn’t even known about tortillions, mechanical pencils nor kneaded erasers.) This was a pretty average attempt at drawing the soccer superhero Lionel Messi, I promise to redraw and assess my progress.

PENCIL ART ASSESSMENT

To truly be great and awesome as a self-trained artist, I assess myself every month by setting an exam involving drawing from a reference photograph. Such a photograph must contain details of art that I haven’t yet encountered or that scares me. Photographs that would naturally make me say “Hell no! I can’t draw this without it looking wacky”. So, It was Halloween season and I saw this really nice picture, used 8b pencil grade on A3 paper.

"PENCIL PORTRAIT OF MUHAMMADU BUHARI"

For the first time ever, I’m so glad about who became the current president of my country. Finally, light at the end of the tunnel, after a 16 year rule of the “you know who” party. Things have never looked so good; the election went smoothly and transparently. Felt like I owed the great retired military strategist a portrait. (If only he could see this). Used a 4b pencil on an A3 paper, took about two weeks.

CHARCOAL PENCIL ART REPLICA OF "MONA-LISA" PORTRAIT

I never ever thought the day would come whereby I would have to make a replica of a great artist’s artwork, not to mention the all-time greatest painting made by Leonardo Da Vinci. I was working in my art studio and then I overheard my step-grandma reminiscing her visit to France, Louvre museum to be exact. How she wished she could purchase the painting (like hell would that ever happen). So, I thought about making her a replica, monochrome form of course (it’s still killing me that I haven’t learnt painting yet). I got to work, took me a month due to my very busy schedule of teaching and working for my NYSC state magazine group, Ibadan, Nigeria. Used a combo of pencils and charcoal pencils, eventually I finished. Then my granddad saw how good it was and claimed it for himself (The Joker’s chuckle). Now I have to make another one, (sigh).

"CHARCOAL ART OF JOHNNY DEPP"

So after graduating from college, I just had to keep on practicing art even though the idea didn’t fair too greatly with my parents, (don’t want to make God angry by hiding your talent now, do you?) I was always a good cartoonist but evolving into human art wasn’t easy, portraits wasn’t easy, funny enough I never liked pencils, it showed flaws,  always preferred pens whereby you had to be perfect. But thanks to eBooks and videos, and of course almost daily practice coupled with support from friends and my lovely twin, I achieved my aim. This was my very first charcoal portrait, hadn’t even heard of kneaded eraser nor blending stump by that time. It’s always fun getting paid for what you love doing, it’s not called work but fun.

“PEN DRAWING OF SCARY LEGENDARY JOKER”

I was inspired by the October challenge on Instagram, hashtag “Inktober”, dedicated just for Halloween. Thought of practicing with my pen and faber-castell oil pastel, then I came across a Joker reference image. Always had been a fan of batman and Dc-comics.