Dedication to Mothers

I have seen mothers' emotional attachment to their children of various age group at this universal trying times and I am short of words to describe the burden of uncertain future that we are forced to embrace all over the world.

Nobody knows tomorrow. Let us endeavour to enjoy every opportunity that we have to relate with each other while the moment lasts. We shall survive and live to tell the story in the not too distant tomorrow.

This painting is dedicated to all caring mothers. I do hope you share my feelings in this.

Title:        "Dear Mother".
Medium: Acrylic on canvas.
Size:         98 x 74 cm.
Year:        2020

My Mother by Ann Taylor.
(Very deep nursery rhyme for the ancient and modern)

Who fed me from her gentle breast,
And hushed me in her arms to rest,
And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?
My Mother.

When sleep forsook my open eye,
Who was it sung sweet hushaby,
And rocked me that I should not cry?
My Mother.

Who sat and watched my infant head,
When sleeping on my cradle bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed?
My Mother.

When pain and sickness made me cry,
Who gazed upon my heavy eye,
And wept for fear that I should die?
My Mother.

Who dressed my doll in clothes so gay,
And fondly taught me how to play,
And minded all I had to say?
My Mother.

Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My Mother.

Who taught my infant lips to pray,
And love God's holy book and day,
And walk in wisdom's pleasant way?
My Mother.

And can I ever cease to be
Affectionate and kind to thee,
Who was so very kind to me,
My Mother.

Ah no! the thought I cannot bear,
And if God please my life to spare,
I hope I shall reward thy care,
My Mother.

When thou art feeble, old, and grey,
My healthy arm shall be thy stay,
And I will soothe thy pains away,
My Mother.

And when I see thee hang thy head,
'Twill be my turn to watch thy bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed,
My Mother.

For could our Father in the skies
Look down with pleased or loving eyes,
If ever I could dare despise
My Mother?

NB. Comments & Criticism allowed.

In a lighter mood: Afro Beats Legend - Fela Anikulapo

Title:        Afro Beat Legend (Abami-eda)
Medium: Ball-point pen on paper.
Size:         41.9 x 59.4cm.
Year:        2020.

Tribute to an African Saxophone Legend in his own right.

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was a tornado of a man, but he loved humanity.
He was meant to be a doctor, an upstanding member of Nigeria's elite like his father, an Anglican pastor who had founded the Nigeria Union of Teachers, and his mother, an aristocrat, nationalist and fiery feminist who had won the Lenin peace prize. His two brothers were already committed to the medical profession to which he was likewise promised. At 20 he would study in England, where his first cousin, Wole Soyinka, was already making waves as a literary lion.

Instead, Fela Ransome-Kuti became infamous, an outlaw musician who declared himself president of his own "Kalakuta Republic", a sprawling compound in the suburbs of Lagos that housed his recording studio and offered sanctuary to the dispossessed. At his club, the Shrine, his band played until dawn while dozens of singers and dancers writhed and glittered amid drifts of igbo smoke. Here, Nigeria's corrupt dictators were denounced and ancient Yoruban deities honoured, all to a relentless backdrop of the "Afrobeat" that Fela had distilled from the musical collision of Africa and black America.

His music and outspokenenness made Fela a hero to Africa's poor, but he would pay a high price for his insurrectionary micro-republic, which was repeatedly raided, and he and his followers would be arrested and beaten. In early 1977, the military junta had had enough – Fela's record Zombie, mocking the army's do-as-you're-told mentality, may have been the tipping point for head of state General Obasanjo, who had once been in the same primary school class as Fela. A thousand soldiers overwhelmed Kalakuta, brutalising and raping as they went, then razing the compound to the ground. Fela was beaten close to death, and his elderly mother thrown from an upstairs window, afterwards dying of her injuries.

Fela defiantly established a short-lived political party and continued to spar with the authorities. "ITT (International Thief Thief)", for example, deplored the exploitation of Africa by multinationals. Increasingly, he carried his music and message to an international audience, though the west's media acclaim was never matched by record sales or stadium concerts. Tours that entailed a 50-strong entourage and albums of 20-minute songs didn't help. Nor did his imprisonment for two years on trumped-up currency charges on the eve of a 1984 world tour. Later still, Fela became a student of the spirit, only leaving home to play twice a week at the Shrine.

At his death from an Aids-related illness at the age of 58 in 1997 Fela left behind seven children, 50-odd albums and a musical legacy that has been kept fiercely alive by his sons Femi and Seun, and by his erstwhile drummer Tony Allen. Belatedly, Afrobeat has become a cause célèbre among young European and American music fans.

(Extracted from Sun Newspaper, 31 Oct 2010).

White Handkerchief

"Betrothed" 68.5 x 152.5 cm Acrylic on Canvas. 2020

The painting is first of Daughters of Eve Series. Impressionistic stylization of the female figure with head silhouette in colours. 

Virginity of a maiden yet to be married is a unique aspect of the marriage institution among the Yoruba of Western Nigeria. It used to be a respected intimate part of conjugal union between a bride and groom.
Until recent times, when the groom returns to the bride's parents a day after the  wedding with a white handkerchief stained with the outcome of the couple’s first night together after their marriage, as a sign of appreciation that their daughter has not failed them in keeping her maiden's flower intact before marriage, they wouldn't mind the cost of celebrating the wedding again with family and friends.

This painting is a dialogue on such a scenario. Here the deed is done and the elders waiting to hear from the husband study the symbol while the bride is still basking in the euphoria of her recent encounter.
Very few family still observe the tradition today, lots of subjective challenges and peer pressure on growing adults in the society has overtaken the importance of chastity. It has become every man for himself. Life goes on whichever way it turns.

Thanks for viewing, criticism and comments are welcome.

Pursuit

"Pursuit" Acrylic on Canvas.  74 x 98 cm. 2020 

The horses broke loose and took to the wild. A reflection of the desire to be free from shackles of bondage. Equine is known for strength and stability... The Holy Bible has this to say about the horse in the book of Job 39:20-25 (Good News Bible)
Job 39:20  Did you make them leap like locusts and frighten people with their snorting? 

Job 39:21  They eagerly paw the ground in the valley; they rush into battle with all their strength. 

Job 39:22  They do not know the meaning of fear, and no sword can turn them back. 
Job 39:23  The weapons which their riders carry rattle and flash in the sun. 
Job 39:24  Trembling with excitement, the horses race ahead; when the trumpet blows, they can't stand still. 
Job 39:25  At each blast of the trumpet they snort; they can smell a battle before they get near, and they hear the officers shouting commands. 

Quite Symbolic of a real man, someone with the determination to make headway whatever cost is required without looking back... irrespective of gender.

Miniature Paintings from Archives

Below are miniature paintings from personal private collections

Acrylic paintings rendered without colour white as tint.

Size ranges from 7" x 9" to 11" X 14" On canvas board.

Eso irun didi

Flutist

Snookers