Tuesday, November 25, 2008

THE TAG


Its been long coming.

I was tagged by Alice and Dominique.

I was told to say 7 unusual things about myself!

1. I was the only child form my mums 4 children that never went to the minders, my mum took care of me till I was able to take care of myself. So I was the last born PET of the house!

2. I spent most of the evenings after primary school in my mums hairdressing salon and I listened to so many ladies complain about hair and other issues relating to their hair. Also, I saw some of the most beautiful women ever!

3. In a bid to lure the girl I wanted to be my girlfriend in Secondary school, I designed a Valentines Card for her- It was the Talk of the Town- Never had they seen one so specially made- the result, I got the babe!

4. I lost my elder brother, dad and mum, in 1988, 1989 and 1990, that time I was 16-18. That's why I FELL IN LOVE WITH CHRIST- my Saviour, because at that point I thought life wasn't worth living but He came to my rescue. My aunt adopted me and she introduced me to Jesus Christ, my life has never remained the same since then- I see a purpose to my being here on earth and even after death!

5. While in Art College in Nigeria, my mates almost thought I was a magician or some sort of wizard because of the speed at which I painted- the assignments given to us. It was no Wizardry or magic. Looking back I think I disciplined myself to do a pencil sketch and colour rough in watercolour and gouache ever before I went to the canvas for every painting, so, by the time I got to the canvas it was half done in my mind.

6. I almost gave up being an artist when I came to the UK because when I got the job centres they said there were no artist jobs going, also I always got rejected when I put into open exhibitions. So I went through a big depression slump from 1999-2003. Then I travelled back to Nigeria to discover all my mates in college were the top artists in the country. Then I said to myself I have to be what I want to be. I came back to the UK and had my first solo exhibition in 2003 during the Black history month, got admission to Heatherley's School of Fine Art in 2003 and ever since 2003 I have never given up being an artist!

7. Well, this you probably know, but I am addicted to sketching in public transport, I have sketched over 2,000 faces so far.........lost count and I have a stack over over 50 sketchbooks..........lost count- filled with faces of people from different places. There was a time I would sit like a hunter for almost 2 hours everyday in Nigeria, from my house balcony- just sketching every moving thing.

I have tagged

1.Carol Feldman
2.Adam Parquette
3.Stephen Gardner
4.John Vander Stelt
5.Albert Mielgo
6.Mark Bridges
7.Sheila Thorton

Please forgive me if you have been tagged before- I just had to tag those that I needed to TAG! Sometimes you can't escape these things.

Rules:
1. put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.
2. list 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. tag 7 other bloggers and let them know.

4 comments:

Alice Thompson said...

You are a whirlwind! Everything in your history elegantly ties into the artist you are today... The hair salon was a pleasant surprise and explains the Afro hair series you have going(-which I love very much BTW.) I was trying to understand why you kept the sketches and now I understand a little more. The loss of your family at such an early age left you with an emptiness to hold onto the special glimpses that you see in people around you. Your sketches are treasures. Perhaps one day you'll be able to let them go. Thank you very much Adebanji for participating in the Tag. I enjoyed all that you revealed.

adebanji said...

Thanks for your reaction, you got me hooked on this. You might be right about your anaylsis and I am only here to learn from you.........You are quite deep though.

dominique eichi said...

Thank you Adebanji for mentioning I tagged you.
Your work is God's blessing to us.
Yes Alice has eyes in her heart for I agree with her comment about the quick sketches.
You have a path that awaits you to deliver many to the glory of God through your artwork.
God's protection and blessings to you.

adebanji said...

Thanks Dominique! You are welcome! I really appreciate your comments and I am also thankful the little family/community we are building here-it is a blessing too!