Monday, 30 November 2020

Our Elders, how far?


Title: My Elders... how far?

Oil on canvas. 20 x 24”

This painting is one of several available at Figure Stories, Group Exhibition at Delaroke Art Gallery, 17B William Jumbo Street, Old GRA, Port Harcourt till 5th December 2020. Virtual shop available at www.delaroke.art.




Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Our Future

 


Our Future
Oil on canvas 36 x 24

This painting will be available at our group exhibition Figure Stories on November 20,  2020 at Delaroke Art Gallery, 17B William Jumbo Close, Old GRA, Port Harcourt. Stay tuned for more details.



Step Forth

 After the dark clouds of oppression, sadness, brutality and despair, we shall step forth with dancing.



Step Forth 36 x 36 inches

Monday, 19 October 2020

First Solo Exhibition - the first of many more


I felt quite fulfilled at the opening of my solo exhibition, I Said No featuring mainly works created during the COVID-19 lockdown in Port Harcourt. I believe this is a watershed moment in my transition from years of practice as a HR practitioner to Fine Art. The body of work highlights contemporary issues of gender-based violence, police brutality, discrimination and rape and the ability of the human spirit to rise above them. From the activism of I Said No to the bright, happier paintings of Hope and Celebration, the exhibition is located in the luscious greenery of Marley & Blue, a bespoke, cozy Port Harcourt coffee shop right in the heart of GRA phase 2. 

Some pictures from the opening evening.







Saturday, 6 June 2020

Amina

Painting of a young girl at a pottery settlement on the outskirts of Abuja Nigeria.


Amina. Oil on canvas. 24 x 24




Sad times - George Floyd and the Riots

The recent death of George Floyd and the USA riots made me very very sad. Social media brought the injustice, the callousness and the racism straight into our living rooms, into our bedrooms all around the world and it was a very sorry sight. This 'angoisse' led to the creation of this painting, 'He Can't Breathe'. The body gesture of my model shows the despair and hopelessness of our times. We should not be fighting these same battles, decades and centuries after. Black Lives Matter.


He Can't Breathe - Oil on canvas 24 x 24 inches. 



Friday, 22 May 2020

Sky Portrait Artist of the Week - Weeks 2, 3 and 4

I participated again in the weekly paint along, this time painting Judge Robbie Rinder. Last week we painted Rankin the renowned photographer and the week before it was Bernardine Evaristo, award winning writer. All the paintings are oil on paper. My submissions are below:


Ranking




Bernardine Evaristo



Judge Rinder





Monday, 27 April 2020

Portrait Artist of the Week - SkyTV

I participated in yesterday's SkyTV Portrait Artist of the Week with a live sitter, Akram Khan. Akram was in his home in the UK and was being painted by Christabel Blackburn in her own home; Christabel is the winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2020. A lot has changed with technology and our ability to paint from where we are. Artists were invited to join in by Facebook live. The PAOTW continues next Sunday at 10 a.m. and will run for 4 weeks (lockdown special).

This is my painting at the end of the 4 hour session. Quite rough and no background painted in to tidy up the edges of his head. I will not be going back to this for now. Let's see what next week brings.




Thursday, 23 April 2020

I Said No

This series was birthed and finished during the Covid-19 pandemic's sit-at-home period in Port Harcourt.

It depicts a rejection of gender discrimination, body shaming, violence, racism, unequal pay and the Corona virus.

Two of them are still available for purchase. Contact the artist for details.

I Said No - 1

I Said No - 2 SOLD

I Said No - 3







Tuesday, 28 January 2020

100 Day Portrait Challenge.

An artist I follow on Instagram A.J. Alper, hosted a challenge last year where participants were to draw, paint or digitally create portraits and post one a day for 100 days. This was intended to free up the creative process and develop the skills required to render an accurate portrait quickly, in the technique of 'alla prima' or what I'd call 'get it right the first time'. This technique involves good placement of features and drawing then painting with gusto, moving paint around, till you are satisfied with the finished product.

I hesitated at first, as there were so many things planned for the immediate future... where would I find the time to complete a painting in a day (an activity that usually takes me about a week of dedicated effort (interrupted by breaks for cooking, exercise and even cooling off when the weather gets too hot).

I later set a date for myself - 1st August 2019 and marked off the next 100 days on my calendar. I purchased large sheets of paper that I cut in 12 x 12 inches sheets. I knew that stretching 100 canvases would be expensive and was going to slow me down and most of what I started off painting, while I waited for friends and relatives to start the 'paint me... paint me' and 'draw me... draw me', was from the internet and therefore for practice and not sale. A lot of the reference drawings came from a Reddit community and from Sktchy (an app that is only available on iPhones and that I could only get references off when my daughter tossed an old iPhone, that died mid-challenge, my way), both platforms where people post their pictures for a painting/drawing, from Pinterest and from Wetcanvas reference pictures.

My first painting... oil on paper 12 x 12 inches.



I was dedicated to a daily painting and daily post as I got more confident...



At some point, I started drawing in pencil and had my sketchbook that had, before now, been quite blank. Pencil or charcoal sketches were my go-to portrait-a-day submissions when I ran out of time or quite literally had to draw face-down on my bed when I had a busy day and was too exhausted to even find an eraser.






My Wacom intuos tablet also came out to play during this time and I digitally inched my way through some of the days. On one of the days, it was to pay tribute to Toni Morrison. May she rest in peace.




I was proud of how I progressed, ending the challenge with these two portraits that my children were happy to acknowledge on social media *phew!*




Obviously, I did not complete this challenge in 100 days even if I posted 100 portraits at the end of the challenge. Life interfered; so did laziness. I was really glad to have AJ put out a post congratulating me as a Graduate of this challenge - I felt I had got another academic degree. He's a great guy, giving tips along the way. The challenge is still on. My people say 'mgbe onye tetere wu ututu ya' - whenever you wake up it's your own morning. So you can start the challenge and see how it goes. Look for @ajalper on instagram and you'll find details.

Thanks to A.J. Alper, to all friends, followers and family that I painted and drew during this period, to my fellow artists who gave support along the way and my followers who liked and commented on my posts, no matter how unfinished or bizarre they sometimes were. I have put all 100 of them in my Instagram stories (@oziomazart). If you are interested in purchasing any of them, let me know and I'll see if it's available for sale.