I discovered my talent at 4 – Oresegun

Can you share with us how you found yourself in art? I love to draw a lot and this made me decide to study Fine Art. I tried to develop my passion for art and I did discover that at the age of four. It was at that age that I got to know that […]

Can you share with us how you found yourself in art?
I love to draw a lot and this made me decide to study Fine Art. I tried to develop my passion for art and I did discover that at the age of four. It was at that age that I got to know that I would be an artist. And since I was supported by my parents, it was easy for me. Art is what I love doing but I would say I started professional art creations in 2005.

Since joining the professional terrain, what will you say have been the challenges?
Well, it is just like every other business. Probably, I may say the biggest challenge is in the area of having enough money to do things. Other challenges include: getting your work to the person that will buy it, getting the needed reference and trying to get materials to work with, all of which are quite difficult. Also, most of the materials I’m using here are imported, so, it is also a challenge, getting the right materials to work with.

Don’t you participate in art exhibitions so as to make your works known and also make money?
Yes, I have been working towards international exhibition since I travelled to Madrid in 2009 and I have seen how exhibitions are organised at the international level. I am still working on how to participate in many more.

In some of your works that have been circulating on social media in recent times, you have quite a number with water droplet and naked paintings involving children, what is the idea behind this?
In my childhood days, I used to play around in the riverine area. And there is no way you will visit the river and you will see children taking their bath with their cloths on. So, if you want to paint a particular scene of where you grew up or your childhood days, you have to be very real about it. Children in the riverine communities swim naked.
Nude pictures of children bathing is what everybody can associate with because people take their bath everyday. So there is nothing special about it.

How long does it normally take you to create a piece?
As a realist artist, it takes about two to three weeks to create a piece and that largely depends on the intricacies involved in creating such a piece. And sometimes it can take a couple of months to get a piece created. The size and what I strive to achieve with a piece also helps in determining duration of the job.

So how much does an art piece cost?
I can’t really determine how much I sell my pieces, because I give them to galleries and they sell at their own prices. So, if I fix a particular price and it goes higher in the gallery what am I going to tell you is the actual value? And probably when it gets to a tertiary market, it could go higher. Therefore I can’t fix a particular price for what I paint..

Can you share your memorable artistic moment with us?
I think that should be in 2004, when I won the  first prize in a painting competition; tertiary category at Pendulum Gallery. Then I was like if I can emerge first in this competition, definitely I can choose this as a career without looking back.

Have you have any unpleasant moment in this profession?
During my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Zamfara State, I was arrested by a Nigerian Police Officer for taking photographs of a Hausa man. I think the problem was due to communication breakdown, as I had no Identity Card to prove that I was a journalist and I could not speak the language very well. My camera was seized and I was taken to the police station. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the station asked me to identify myself and I told him that I was a corps member serving in the state. He was the one who later released me.

If you are to request any assistance from government to aid art, what will that be?
I will want government to build us a museum where the best art works can be put on display so that tourists can visit the place and pay certain amount of money. That would also generate revenue for the government. It will also encourage artists to create many unique things.

What will you say is your artistic ambition?
Of course, I will like to be a great artist and I want to nurture and mentor young talents by establishing a school of art. I am also working towards having better exhibitions in future.

At the moment, can you really say you are available for the training of young artists?
As you can see, my studio is very small so if I say I want to train young artists now, the whole place will be jam-packed. Of course, like I said, I have plans to establish a school of art but that is not possible right now due to space constraint.

What will be your advice to upcoming artists?
They should be focused in what they are doing and believe that they can achieve greatness. Be focused because passion comes with money, but passion and hard work first. The sky will be their limit if they can endure.