MINT Gallery Magazine Oct. 2017 | Page 44

“I have never been able to express myself. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not introverted. I’m very loud but I never talk about the issues that really bother me. Art is the only way I could ever truly express myself without getting too visibly emotional or scared of what people thought. Art really makes me free. I started drawing around the age of seven. Then I started with the basics (Ben Ten)...lol... I started drawing seriously at eleven or twelve years old. When I started drawing portraits. But I didn’t start creating until early this year with Mr. Kunle Adewale, the founder of ‘Tender Arts Nigeria’. He is truly an inspiration. He 44 constantly challenged me and made me always surpass my expectations. He made me face things I always avoided, both in art and in my personal life. He made me reach for my painful memories and emotions which I always kept buried. He made me understand that those buried items could be used as the best inspiration. Thanks to him, my pencil work has improv and the way I view the world has changed. I can only hope my art can inspire someone else the same way in the nearest future.”