THE VERSATILE REBEL December 5, 2020 – Posted in: Arts, Showcase – Tags: , ,

I own my creative space unapologetically. My creative space is my empire and I am the emperor. I direct the canvas and the brush whichever way I like till I get my desired result. I don’t like being told what to do with my creativity. When it comes to art, I can be as rebellious as I want to be without being boxed. Every artist is different and as far as I can remember, art is what I love to do. Not just what I love to do but what I love to do best. It is a channel to show what I have in mind without being questioned or interrupted. First, art is therapeutic. It is a medium of painting out my emotions and defining any state I find myself.

In the early days of my journey, I always found myself replicating anything around me. Interestingly, my mother would encourage me to keep doing it. In time, I practically saw myself getting better. I was one of those kids in school whose exercise books were filled with drawings and cartoons.  When it was time to get into the university, I was eager to study Arts but people around me considered Arts as an aside. I went on to study Sociology in Bowen University. Even after my studies, the love for art refused to die. Rather, it kept growing to the extent I considered studying it again. Unfortunately, I didn’t meet the criteria needed for it at that time. I still went further to study Criminology as a Masters’ degree.

In spite of sidelining arts all through these years, the fire for it did not quench. The love for arts came back strong as a hobby and more of an escape. At first, I didn’t see a future in it but I kept on doing it. Obviously, you get better at anything you keep practicing. Later, I found myself in Paddy Art Gallery in Ibadan and I saw my talent coming alive each passing day. Thankfully, my father was very supportive, considering the fact that art materials are quite expensive.

The SweetArt Studio

In time, I saw myself evolving. I went from drawing in black and white to using charcoal and later saw myself using colour and paints. This evolution is one of those things that I consider distinctive in my journey. In my early days of arts, most experienced artist would encourage you to stick to only one genre of arts. Their advice might have come from a place of sincerity but it didn’t resonate well with me. In fact, I believe this could have also discouraged a lot of budding artists who found themselves versatile in the use of different media. As far as concerned, my story started taking shape the day I decided to break the rules and do what I want to do with my creativity. I broke the rules as I was comfortable with pastels, acrylic, oil and charcoal. That of course, was where my artistic rebellion started.

I am not exempted from the fact a lot of people still look down on the art profession and art works generally. Some people have not come to wrap their heads around why art works are expensive. In March, I opened my art studio. I had about 2 weeks to get my artworks ready for the opening despite having a baby. Thankfully, I was able to do that and people that came around for the launch were really impressed. To a great extent, the lockdown of 2020 was a blessing to me, after all. Whenever I am asked how I was able to professionally start my journey and make it this far, my reply remains: When the time is right, you will definitely know.

Gbemisola Falaiye – Artist and owner of The Sweetart Studio

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