My mother was a lithographer. I guess I shared the blood of creativity with her. I started drawing at the age of four but began professionally in the year 2000. Looking back, I remember seeing myself always drawing in my mathematics book rather than solving simple quadratic equations. Though I wasn’t pressured by anyone, I went into science class and found myself doing further maths, chemistry and physics.
Funnily enough, I did well academically but that wasn’t my passion. I started making little money from my secondary days from drawing people. I remember my father would buy sketch pad for me to draw his friends and would be given one kobo in return. In time, I went to Auchi Polytechnic where I studied Painting and General Arts and later moved to Obafemi Awolowo University where I studied Fine and Applied Arts. Graduating as the best student in sculpture was a feather added to my cap.
My life is basically about arts. Never for once have I regretted taking the path of arts. It has all been perfected since I started. Although there were many times I produce a work and it will stay for almost a year before the buyer would come but I knew it belonged to someone.
One thing I did not take for granted was the place of mentorship. I served Mufu Onifade and he really showed me the path to the Nigerian art market. Due to his mentorship, I didn’t stay in the Nigerian art market alone because it’s somewhat hard for an upcoming artist to break in.
Right now, I usually go for summer arts residency in America and that has really helped my arts in so many ways – learning the tools, machines and techniques, understanding how to combine western arts and African ideas, understanding the materials and international market strategies as well as improving my content and concepts. At the moment, I also engage myself in community service with special children – they make life very easy.
