How out-of-school girl inspired my painting

Eguavoen Matthew is an artist with a flair for making portraits. In this interview, he talks about the girl behind his latest painting, his journey as a painter, and more. Excerpts: What attracted you to drawing and painting? A friend of mine, Ikenna Nwachukwu, once showed me a realistic painting of a lady in a […]

Eguavoen Matthew is an artist with a flair for making portraits. In this interview, he talks about the girl behind his latest painting, his journey as a painter, and more. Excerpts:

What attracted you to drawing and painting?

A friend of mine, Ikenna Nwachukwu, once showed me a realistic painting of a lady in a bathtub filled with water on Instagram and I was moved by it. The only time I have tried drawing was around the age of 12 when my elder sister, Ayisat Eguavoen, came back home from school on holiday. She was practicing the grid line technique she had learnt in school and I was watching her closely. The next day I decided to try it. I drew a picture of Bill Clinton and Olusegun Obasanjo, which didn’t turn out so bad. It was after my friend showed me that painting in 2013, in my final year in the university of Port Harcourt that the desire to draw came back again. I did not learn how to draw and paint from anyone. I taught myself.

I woke up one morning and went to an art shop in Port Harcourt called Artworld where I bought a sketchpad and some pencils. By the time I got back home, my roommates found it funny that all of a sudden, I had developed an interest in drawing to the extent that I spent money on art materials. But that didn’t stop me. I started learning how to draw portraits using grid lines. I also made sure I drew a new picture every day. It became a competition between I and my friend Austin Chukwu, who also liked drawing. We drew every day and tried to point out each other’s mistakes. This went on until I got paid to actually draw a portrait for a friend, Olisa. It was for a girl he liked in school. It felt so good to get paid for something I started doing for fun.

What was it like working on your first piece?

My first piece was a painting on a 16 by 20-inch canvas of a teddy bear titled ‘Unbothered’. I was excited when someone actually bought it from me. I made prints of the painting on T-shirts and sold over a hundred. People really loved it. A lot of them supported my art, most especially on Twitter. I think that is where the most supportive people are and I’m so grateful to them.

What would you say is your major challenge as an artist?

Right now, one of my major challenges is getting into the bigger art market. For now, I try to sell my paintings via social media. From time to time I attend art exhibitions so I can meet other artists, see their works and network. I look out for exhibition openings that I can apply for, just so I can display my works to a bigger audience. This is how one of my paintings, ‘Who knows’ got selected for an exhibition in London taking place from November 22 to 26, 2019. That would be my first exhibition and I am so excited about it. It is also a major milestone in my career as an artist. Although I will not be able to be there personally due to financial reasons, my paintings will be there.

What inspires you, generally?

My major inspiration comes from everyday societal issues, challenges and how it affects the demeanor of the people. Being able to address these issues via painting and drawings and hoping one day the world becomes a better place for everyone living in it, inspires me to paint more.

What inspired ‘Who Knows’, the piece that will be exhibited in London?

I would say that it still is about using my paintings to address societal challenges. ‘Who knows’ is a painting of a young girl I met in Ojuelegba, Lagos. I met her at her brother’s popcorn stand. It was in the morning and I realized she was supposed to be in school. So I took permission from her elder brother, introduced myself as an artist and showed him some of my works just so he will be comfortable with me taking pictures of his younger sister. That young girl inspired ‘Who knows’. It opened my eyes to one of the problems we face as a country, where young children are deprived of education and some basic needs because their parents cannot afford it. I felt really sad seeing her in that situation. I hope I sell the painting in London as I have plans to send them a percentage of the money made from the sale. I made sure to collect his contact just in case I have to reach them again.