My latest video on why I am an addictive sketcher!

This was put together by MGL MEDIA and I hope you catch some inspiration from it! I'm not going to say much, just watch and enjoy the next 8 minutes! MGL MEDIA also have a blog which can be accessed by clicking HERE


SPECIAL QUOTE
"For our purposes we will define  a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. Knowledge is the theoretical paradigm, the what to do and the why. Skill is the how to do. And the desire is the motivation, the want to do. In order to make something a habit in our lives, we have to have all three."-Stephen R. Covey-The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career ( 21 and 22)

NUMBER 21

AFRO XXII

AFRO XXII, Charcoal/Graphite, 10" x 8", 2009



This is one of my drawings that show the beauty of natural hair. It's one of my favourites! The model I used was a very good friend of mine. Because it was purely one of those pieces that I chose to do, I altered her facial features a bit to suit the purpose of the piece. Sometimes I do this especially if the person doesn't want to be seen as the model or if I don't want the person to be seen as the model, in this case the later was the reason. Again this work celebrates one of my best used techniques when it comes to drawing. It's my charcoal wash technique, which I create on a self-sanded watercolour paper to create textures. I mix charcoal dust mixed with water to start off the piece as if it were a pure watercolour, the charcoal dust acting as a pigment. Once I get satisfied with the forms and shapes in the build-up, I then introduce graphite for the areas where I would like to add more texture and do a bit of writing into the drawing, a technique I call "calligraphic mark-writing into the drawing"-Looking closely at this drawing would reveal words that have to do with the beauty and way I felt while working on this piece.

Funny enough when I posted this piece a while back. Someone made a comment, that the work looks exactly like her. Now that's what happens when faces get altered. I couldn't agree less.





NUMBER 22

RUSH HOUR I

RUSH HOUR I, Oil on Canvas, 24" x 36", 2006

This was a painting that was going to launch me into a world of the unknown! Looking back at this first Rush Hour piece brings me pure joy! I was only out to experiment and this is one reason why artists just need to keep trying new things. This was a time in my life that I was experimenting a lot. Just trying to find out things that were interesting to me and things that gave a buzz! Naturally I always found myself getting intrigued by peoples faces, this is what keeps me sketching people on public transport all the time. But then, I also love to see a variety of faces at once, I love pictures that reveal so many different faces and people in one solid composition. I buy all kinds of books and magazines to influence my artistic appetite and I remember buying this book illustrated by Glenn Farby. In one of his illustrations for a magazine cover for the "PREACHER" Number 56-which can be seen HERE I saw loads of faces of different people all merged into one whole setting, and I was like, "WOW! I love that! I wish could do a painting that would have all those qualities!" So, this image kept on 'haunting' me, and then one day on a hot summers day probably in 2004 or 2005, I was at Clapham Common Station in London and I was approaching the escalators when I saw all these people during the peak of the Rush Hour period. Thank God I had my digital camera, it was the first one I had ever used, a 1.5 mega pixel. I just snapped this- "almost out of focus image" of the scene unaltered. I never knew I was going to use it for a breakthrough painting until I got inspired by Glenn Farby.

I remember painting this piece for close to 6 months, I used to work full time at St Mungos and I had just married 2 years from then and had my first child a year from then, so it was a busy time for me, yet I wanted combine all this with my art, something that I couldn't just leave. So I'd paint a little go to work, paint a little, go to work...and I think this continued for 6 months. When complete, I put it into the Patchings Competition organized by the The Artist Magzine and it won the Daler Rowney Award, which entitled me to £250 worth of Art Materials from Daler Rowney! Now that was so encouraging, and I got publicity in The Artist Magazine but the work didn't sell.

Then a year after I discovered a lady called Sharmina Karim! Now, sometimes you just happen to meet the right people. She was organizing a competition to give exposure to upcoming artists in the contemporary scene. The good thing was that the selected works would be exhibited at the Barclays Headquarters at Canary Wharf! And I thought to myself, "Even if I don't win the any of the Prizes at least I'll get some exposure!" So I gave it a go and the work was selected, and for the first time in the UK, I was going to exhibit a painting that would SELL!!!! The exhibition day came and even before I got to the venue on The Private View Day, the work had a red dot on it! I was happy, I remember going with my wife and my baby son and they so proud of me! I must say I was happy with myself! That first Rush Hour painting sold for £875, It meant a lot to me then but continuing this series has seen some works go as high as £7,500! But there's always a beginning! So, the greatest thing I keep reminding myself everytime-whether I'm up or down is to KEEP ON KEEPING ON! There's a lot of power in PERSISTENCE, I mean real DOGGED PERSISTENCE, I mean sometimes, you want a change so badly, you are ready to sacrifice anything to get the results you are looking for. Well, that's enough said on this piece!


SPECIAL QUOTE
"There comes a time when you will be the only one who can judge your paintings. you can not rely on what has been done in the past or what is accepted now. It is up to you to set your own standards and understand how to judge"-Angela D'Aleo from her BOOK, The Purpose of Painting

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career 18

Number 18- AFRO XX



This piece comes from my AFRO SERIES, a series which I am still currently working on. This series emphasizes the beauty of natural black hair.

I can clearly remember I met a lovely lady, during a weekend in the winter of 2008 and she had a nice looking Afro, not the kind you'll always see. I looked once and twice....then got the courage to ask if she'll like to be in my current series.....She agreed! I had to take pictures of her and that was sufficient, there was no room for sketching as the occasion wasn't the best for that, it was her dad's birthday and everyone was busy having fun.

AFRO XX, 10" x 8", Coloured Pencil/Sanguine Dust, 2008

This work comes as part of the 40 because after I completed the drawing-there was something about the her face that made it seem as if she was about to speak-an alive kind of feeling, somehow in this portrait, not only the hair got the emphasis but something a little bit more deeper- I always believe the mood is best captured by the mouth. I am not always able to get the inner spirit of those I capture and when she saw it she affirmed it too. This one seemed to evolve through the ghosting technique I used in the initial stages of the work. This was done with ghosting the sanguine dust on a self sanded watercolour paper. Then different tones of browns, reds and orange coloured pencils were used to bring out tones and details. I also added my calligraphic writing marks in the background.


SPECIAL QUOTE
"If you are into portraits, you'll often meet people everyday who are what I call, "dream models"- These are the people one would love to paint or draw all day long. But if you just allow them to pass by, the experience is lost forever. Sometimes a sketch would do, sometimes the meeting might be too brief and you'll just need to take risk and ASK politely-The worst case scenario would be a "NO" but often times it's a "YES"- and if a yes, they may allow you to sketch, take a picture, book a sitting or two and in the end, those are the kind of works that become treasures because they come from the soul of the artist- they are something you really wanted to do, far from the commission type of thing-so TAKE A PLUNGE, GIVE IT GO, BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER KNOW!" -Adebanji Alade

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career 10

Number 10-AFRO XXI





This is one from my AFRO SERIES. I remember I was at Church on a Sunday afternoon and I went to the lobby where we normally relax between the morning service and evening service, and these lovely girls were helping themselves look good. I just took a number a shots while the plaiting took place, it was only later while looking through my archive of pictures did I realize this would be great for my current Afro Series. I cropped the original picture to suit the size, abstract shape and composition I was looking for. I really enjoyed working on this piece because it all evolved organically and I was able to infuse my word-mark making calligraphic strokes into this one too. So if you look closely you'll see words in the background effects!



AFRO XXI, Carbon pencil/charcoal dust/graphite, 8" x 10", 2008

I started by giving the watercolour paper a good sanding effect then I sketched very lightly first to make sure I got the right shapes and proportion of the figures. I used my charcoal dust mixed with water to treat the drawing as if I was working on a watercolour, I work in tonal graduation from light to dark. After this was done, I used a blending stick to work the tones into each other. Then finally I used my graphite pencils and mechanical pencils to get the detail.

This work was sold to my great friend Alice, who saw it on my blog immediately I posted it!

SPECIAL QUOTE
"An artist has to earn the right to shade a drawing by first drawing the lines accurately"-Jon deMartin

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career 4

Number 4- Afro XIX



Afro XIX, Graphite, 13.5" x 9.5", Charcoal and Oil Base pencil, 2009



This is drawing was number 19 of my current Afro series. My passion for graphite and charcoal some how takes over here, as I really tried to express myself, and because it was not a commission, I felt a little bit on the free side. The emphasis of this series is the beauty of black natural hair and the model is a lovely little girl in my Sunday school class, she came just like this, the Sunday I taught the class.

In working on this drawing, I worked entirely from a snap shot of her, converting the coloured picture into black and white. I then made sure I used sand paper to roughen the smoothness of the watercolour paper I used. The effect of this roughening up gives the paper some really rugged textures that work well for the Afro hair and for other textural effects. I started by working entirely with a sable brush, water and powdered charcoal. After treating it as a watercolour, I then worked more on the drawing with oil base pencils and then I finished off with graphite for the details and also for the random mark making around the figure. In making these marks, I involve mark making in the form of writing, the writing has to do with how I feel about the work and the theme of the work, I like all this to show up in some sort of graphical poetry of free hand calligraphic strokes.

My blogger friend and Sister, Dominique bought the drawing after posting it on my blog in 2008. She said it reminded her of her daughter when she was small.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Very early on in my life, I fell in love with the landscape of the human face, where all the emotional states of life are to be found, and the love affair has not faltered."

- Burton Silverman

AFRO XXXI and XXXII , Mixed Media, 2010 (The Flying Moleskins)

This is a continuation of my current series on AFRO HAIR. These two pieces have been used for the flying molekins project that I am currently taking part in.

AFRO XXXI-The model here is Tiffany. This one is for Dominique, who is Tiffany's mum. The same materials mentioned in the piece below were used for this one.





AFRO XXXII-The model here is my daughter, Kezia. This one is for Michelle. I have used Oil base pencil, graphite and charcoal dust for this piece on printmaking paper.

AFRO XXX , Graphite, 2010 (The Flying Moleskins)

This makes number 30 in my current Afro series, it is made for a contribution into Camille's sketchbook in which the theme was open for us to do whatever we wanted. This is all part of a 13 artist sketchbook exchange called The Flying Moleskins. I used one of those manikins used for display in front Fashion Clothing stores. It is the first time I am not using a real human being for a model, just thought I'll experiment a bit. I liked the stark dark contrast against the highlighted figure and her hair.



This was done with only graphite, my trustworthy medium.

AFRO XXIX, 9" x 11", Pastel, 2010

This is number 29 of my current Afro Series. The model here is my 9 month old daughter Kezia.


This series focuses on the variety and beauty of natural black Afro hair.



I have gone a bit wild with my colours here, and that's one of the advantages of pastel. You don't need to mix, it's just pick, paste and go! For this I used the 72 Soft Pastel set by Winsor & Newton on a thick watercolour paper prepared with a light yellow orche wash.

AFRO XVIII, 9" x 12", Mixed Media on Paper, 2010

This number 28 in my current series of Afro Hair styles. I really love the look of Afros and I'll continue this series as far as I keep loving it!



For this piece I had my friend Shola as the model, she turned up to a get-together with this Afro and without wasting time I asked if she'll like to part of the series and she agreed.

This piece was done in an "experimental manner" I used watercolour, coloured pencils, liquin, wax crayons, Biro and an oil based pencil on a paper with a liquin base to stop absorbency. I just love trying different mixed media techniques.

AFRO XXVII, 11" x 13", Oil Base Pencil/Charcoal, 2009

Here comes number 27 of my current Afro Series and if you remember from my last post on the Afro Series, I said the drawing had a better resemblance. This to me looks more like the model.



I have used Soft Oil Base Pencil with charcoal to render this piece. The emphasis of this series once again is to explore the variety and beauty of natural Black Afro Hair, something that really fascinates me!

I have got three more models lined up, any more takers? If you have a good Afro or know a friend that has a good Afro, please feel free to contact me and we'll arrange sittings or work from photos.

AFRO XXVI, 12" x 16", oil on canvas, 2009

Another shot at my current Afro series. I met this girl on the escalator at London Bridge, her Afro got my instant attention, I asked if she'll like to be part of my current project, she agreed when she saw some samples of my previous work. I didn't really get her resemblance as you'll notice when I post the drawing version of this piece which I feel looks more liker her. But the emphasis of this series is not really about the peoples faces but their hair! I am just always captivated by Afro hair, and I carry this feeling with me into the process of working it out during the execution of the work!

AFRO XXV, 8" x 11", Mixed Media on Watercolour paper, 2009

This makes number 25 in my current Afro Series. This time it was inspired by the weekly challenge on Karin Juricks DSFDF.




I wanted to show the contrast between this sweet little girl who attends my Sunday School class and the wigged mannequins in the background. But she kind of stands boldly as if to say, " I am also.............." I won't give it all way....

Now this was done first by mixing grey pastel dust and water to form washes for the initial block-ins. Then an oil base pencil, graphite pencil, wax crayons and intricate watercolour washes were used to bring out the details. I used Arches watercolour paper here for the first time and it was a good experience!

Notable Links about my work

ROBOT NINE

Has commented on my other blog and he has chosen some of the transformations that have taken place there.




NU KYNK
Inspiring fashionistas to embrace the kynk

Has commented on my Afro Series.

AFRO XXIV, 8" x 10", Mixed Media on Heavy Watercolour paper, 2009

This is number 24 in my current Afro series- another experiment- I started off by mixing the charcoal dust with some Liquitex Slow Dri Blending medium(Never tried this just looking for effects)I didn't do any initial drawing just attacking the paper with my brush as I would approach a watercolour piece. Then when it was dry, I added more definite drawing and tone to the piece with the oil base pencil. I then added some intermediary tones with cool grey and white coloured pencils.




The emphasis of this series is all about the beauty and variety you can get with natural black hair

The model is my little boy, "Josh" and that was when he had a bit more hair and was younger.

AFRO XXIII, watercolour/charcoal, 10" x 8", 2009

This is number 23 in my present AFRO SERIES. I haven't included any other masculine face in my Afro series apart from AFRO X - where I featured myself, the way I looked when I was younger and used to have my mum treat me to an Afro blow and a 90 degrees part in my hair.




But I am including the second male face in this series that celebrates the beauty of black natural hair. I met this guy at Nandos last year when I went for a send-off meal for one of my friends, she was moving over to America. I approached him and he agreed to join this project.

The face of a black male today makes a bit of history too as Barack Obama becomes the First American Black President!

AFRO XXII, Charcoal/graphite, 10" x 8", 2009

This is number 22 in my current Afro Series.

The emphasis of this series, is to show the beauty and variety of natural black hair.





The model is a friend of mine and she has a nice Afro!

I have used charcoal dust, carbon pencils and graphite on Cotman Watercolour paper 300gms.

AFRO XXI, 8" x 10", Carbon pencil/charcoal dust/graphite, 2008 SOLD

This is number 21 in my current Afro series, its all about the beauty of natural black hair.




Both models here were seen by me on Sunday at church during the afternoon respite, helping themselves to look good.

I am beginning to have a real love affair with graphite................

AFRO XX, 10" x 8", coloured pencil/sanguine dust, 2008

This is number 20 in my current Afro series.






The emphasis is all about the beauty of natural black hair.

I met a lovely lady, during the weekend and she had a nice looking Afro, not the kind you'll always see. I looked once and twice....then got the courage to ask if she'll like to be in my current series.....She agreed!

This was done with ghosting the sanguine dust on a self sanded watercolour paper. Then different tones of browns,reds and orange coloured pencils were used to bring out tones and details.

AFRO XIX, 13.5" x 9.5", Graphite/Charcoal, 2008 SOLD

This is number 19 in my current Afro series. My passion for graphite and charcoal some how takes over here, as I really try to express myself, and because it is not a commission, I feel a little bit on the free side. The emphasis of this series is the beauty of black natural hair and the model is a lovely little girl in my Sunday school class, she came just like this last Sunday.

AFRO XVIII, 8" x 10", acylic/oil on canvas, 2008

Number 18, Funny enough I started this piece in 2003 and it has been lying in the corner of my studio for years. I picked it up and "freshened" it up a bit and it becomes the 18th in my Afro series.




The emphasis of this series is on the variety and beauty of natural black hair.