Painting was part of my developmental process – Faruk Umar

When did you start painting, and what was the defining moment for you as a creative artist? I have been involved in various mediums of expression in visual art – pencil drawing, water colour painting, poster colour painting, pastels etc – for as long as I can remember. But I took my first major leap […]

When did you start painting, and what was the defining moment for you as a creative artist?

I have been involved in various mediums of expression in visual art – pencil drawing, water colour painting, poster colour painting, pastels etc – for as long as I can remember. But I took my first major leap into oil painting in 2008, when I was in junior secondary school. The freedom of expression I discovered during that exploration was amazing. At that moment, I knew I could do anything; I could create magic. From that moment, my creativity took a whole new form and purpose.

Did you undergo any special training? 

Painting came to me naturally. It was part of my developmental process. It was an area I decided to explore, and I grew well in it. Learning and discovering myself through painting was a beautiful experience. I made mistakes and encountered challenges, but I developed further.

How do you get your inspiration? 

My art comes from deep within. The stroke of each brush carries the expression of a thousand words and emotion. For me to be moved to paint, I have to feel deeply from within. It doesn’t matter the form in which the intuition comes. It could be a feeling of joy, which brings me to the point of ecstasy or a deep sense of sadness, which makes my soul yearn. It could be that of gratitude and pleasure or unimaginable pain. But whatever moves me to paint is usually strong, so strong that it marks my work with its touch. 

As a painter in Nigeria, what are the challenges you have experienced?

When I was younger, there were a lot of materials and tools I wished I had access to, which would have helped me enormously in my development. But it was not easy accessing those materials. Cost of production was a great challenge as art materials can be very expensive. Without funding and support, it’s really not easy to gather money for sufficient materials, especially if you have a tendency for superior quality production and finishing. To make it worse, after production, how to sell your work is usually another challenge as you can hardly find an average Nigerian who will pay you well for the work produced.

Is painting a career choice or hobby for you? 

Actually, for me, painting is life. It goes beyond a hobby or career. It is life for me because I use it to communicate, express myself and transmit what words can’t. I use it to motivate and inspire the world around me. And the more I do that, the more I am inspired and motivated. 

What future do you foresee for painters in Nigeria? 

Well, it depends on the direction development takes. But I believe it comes down to each individual artist and what drives them. Despite the challenges aforementioned, we still have a good number of Nigerian artists who have turned out successful, both nationally and internationally. The future can be bright for Nigerian painters. We should appreciate and celebrate Nigerian painters more; the world can’t ignore them.