Current Work: Finished Artworks For Political Cartoon

Here are the final images representative of the political thugs left free to run amok in our government. Please note that the characters are generic and do not portray any actual person.

Recent Work: Pencil Sketches for Political Cartoon

I was dumbfounded at the report of the fracas that ensued yesterday at the River State House of Assembly. 'Honourable' representatives of the people forgot their honour and acted shamefully for the public.

This was the last straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. I had to shelf my busy schedule to create two cartoons that aptly expressed my disappointment with a certain crop of Nigerian political leaders. You may watch the video on YouTube.

Past Work: Vector Illustrations For Book Cover Ideas

A few years ago I created some ideas for book covers for a line of children books. Here are the illustrations realised in CorelDRAW.

Recent Event: At Last, An Artist In Space!

I was delighted to read about Karen Nyberg, a NASA Astronaut making plans to create a piece of art at the International Space Station. The work-of-art in question is quilting- the stitching craft involving use of decorative designs. Below is a quilt earlier made by Karen Nyberg.

"I enjoy sewing and quilting," she explained during a televised interview from Moscow. "I am bringing some fabric with me, and thread. I'm hoping to create something. I don't know what yet it will be — that's part of creativity. It comes with the feeling of the day. So I have the supplies at my hands to create, if I get the opportunity and the creative notion to do so."

Granted, this 'artist' is a fully trained Mechanical Engineer but I'm really looking forward to seeing the first work of art created in space. Best of luck to Ms. Nyberg! 

Recent Events: Bi-focals, Ray Harryhausen and Colour Illustrations

I have not kept my promise to regularly update my blog this year. The year has been busy all over. First off, after about a year of denial, I had to give in and submit to eye checkup. Yes, yours truly is now required to don a pair of bi-focals 24/7. Felt weird at first but now I don't even think about it.

I was sad to hear about Ray Harryhausen's passing May 7th. His works really provided rare entertainment for me back when I didn't know who Harryhausen was. Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Simbad and of course Clash of The Titans were the peak of fantastic high adventure in my earlier days. A look at the list of top talents he has inspired over the years, from Steven Spielberg to John Lasseter, is truly a testimony to his greatness. And his humble lifestyle is a great example for me.

I have a lot going on but sadly I am not permitted to post a lot of the stuff I'm working on yet. But I did do some development art for an installation for a bank wall late last year.

 

 

Past Work: CHECKMATE Illustration For Pizzazz Magazine

Last year I finally got to publish a story I had written years ago. It featured as a backup story in the maiden issue of the PIZZAZZ magazine. Posted here is part of the cover art illustrating the story. The full cover may be seen here. 

Recent Event: Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2013. I promise to have a lot of good stuff posted here this year. Thanks for your visits.

Recent Work: Sleeping Beauty And Frankenstein's Monster

I have just concluded work on the third instalment in my Revised Fairy Tales And Fiction poster designs. My version of the story Beauty and the Beast showcases Frankenstein's monster and Sleeping Beauty. This latest work features my take on the fictional reanimated creature as he rescues the enchanted African princess from captivity. The silhouette of the prison tower can be seen in the background.

To start, I had to make a fairly detailed pencil drawing with shading to guide the colour rendition. In CorelDRAW, I draw the outlines in vector closing following my pencil drawing. And after proceeded to add flat colours and build details into each element. To make the work less complicated, I drew each element on it's own layer. Various stages of the rendering are posted below.

You can view the whole project so far at my Behance portfolio. 

2012 Copyright Olusola Akinseye

Past Work: My Early Oil Paintings

Though I did some oil painting during my undergrad years, I remember getting pretty serious about the medium after my graduation. I bought Walter Foster instruction books on painting and tried to learn on my own- part of the reality of being self taught. I bought mainly Winsor & Newton products because the only major art supplier around was a distributor. They were very pricey! That was a really expensive hobby for me (and for my parents who footed the bill). Most of my works then were abandoned as I travelled to Port Harcourt for my post graduate studies (in Engineering).

Years later, I discovered my parents had kept my works and later displayed them around their home. Just looking at then takes me back. It wasn't all fun then, I had a really difficult time understanding and getting used to the vast difference between using watercolours and oil painting. But today, those are fond memories.

Recent Work: Hand Made Card For My Wonderful Parents

Last month I presented a card to both my parents from all their five children. Since their birthdays are about a month apart, we decided to celebrate it together as this year our dad turns 70!

The card was presented at The Macopolo, V.I. during a family luncheon.

 

I had just three days to create the card including rummaging through piles of family albums. I wanted to use both current and dated pictures to capture their growth over the years in a marriage that has spanned 44 years. It has been a long time, almost two decades I think, that I had worked with card boards to make custom cards. Anyway, I managed to pull it off. 

The inner designs were made in both Corel DRAW and Photoshop and printed using the Epson large format printer. The cover is made of embossed cardboards all mounted on hardboard to provide support. 

I made it a 6 page design. The first inner two pages contained general appreciation and benediction while the next two featured personal messages from both their children and grand children. 

I look forward to doing this again ten years from now, D.V.!