Presentation

OLUMIDE EGUNLAE Born in 1968 in Ado-Ekiti Nigeria, Olumide discovered his love of art at a young age through his father and uncle (Prof. Michael Olusegun Adejemilua) and his “Ona Art Movement”. He was then influenced by his painting teacher, prof. Tola Wewe and his classmate's namesake, Dr. Olumide Ayeni. Following his natural artistic instincts, he acquired techniques and preferences that he relates through his work. After 20 years as a visual arts teacher, Olumide returned to his easel and brushes full-time. His personality is a big part of his work, and as he begins a new painting, he embarks on a personal journey through a host of emotions. My paintings are dialogues of my mind as it sees, perceives or views things, people's lifestyles and the worlds around me. Once I have captured the images in my conscious mind, I find a particular way of analyzing and carefully integrating these images into my canvas. Through this free-form approach to my paintings, I explore the use of balance, lines, shapes, colors and heavy textures and give plenty of opportunity and freedom to experiment with my colors, resulting in real unconscious juxtapositions of colors and other elements in the whole work, carefully thought out and expressed, offering the viewer a direct visual connection to his or her state of mind.