Uchennaya: The Beauty And Her Painting Brush December 1, 2020 – Posted in: Arts, Showcase – Tags: , ,

I would rather sit around sketching my fantasies than actually help do house chores. That was how indulged I was in my art as a child. Chinelo, my sister, and I would sketch houses and people as kids and that was our own little way of having fun. It was a priceless memory of my childhood. In my junior secondary school, fine art was the only course I enjoyed going for and would of course, get an A. In 2015, I got an award for the best graduate female artist in my set in 2015. It was a beautiful beginning for me and these series of unplanned events built me up to where I am now. Surprisingly, my enthusiasm for arts dropped when I gained admission into the university. For some time, I struggled a lot with low self esteem. I found myself continuously doubting myself. I was a point in my life I would try to do what I love but because I wasn’t getting exactly what I wanted, I would give up.

In my second year in the university, Stanley, my artist friend encouraged me to give arts another try. On that day, he gave me a kettle and a cup to sketch. He was amazed at the result he saw and told me to keep trying. Subsequently, I did more five sketches and quit again.  Not until last August, I didn’t touch my pencils or brushes. So, these series of events built me up to know that I was born for the arts. It’s quite therapeutic. It’s the only thing in this world that makes me feel fulfilled and happy. When I mean fulfillment, I mean the different views and perspectives people get when they see my works. To be able to create a work that conveys the right message and emotions, you need to be very focused and enthused.

The year 2020 has been a historic year around the world. But in the midst of it, I started creating more art works during the lockdown and the nationwide university strike in Nigeria. Looking back in my journey from when I started as a freshman and now as a final year student in the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, it’s been quite fun and a bit of hard work combining painting and the study of Soil Science and Technology .

The beautiful thing about the arts industry is that we are blessed with a lot of professionals that have set the pace for the young ones. In this industry, I look up to the likes of Kingsley Ayogu. His works fascinates me and sometimes gives me goose bumps just by looking at it. Apart from being iconic, his inspiration has helped me in my art journey.

Uchennaya Nwanko – Artist

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