Artist Amos Osemwengie
Congratulations to Amos Osemwengie for placing as a finalist in the 6th Edition!
Who are you?
I am Amos Osemwengie, a visual artist born and raised in the city of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria. my Art journey stemmed at the very young age of 5. I was greatly inspired by an architect who lived close to my family home, I was drawn to his discipline in drawing and design. I think that was the first trigger that sparked my interest in making art. I developed a burning curiosity for drawing and started engaging myself with painting comics and images of interest to me at the time and through exploring various mediums, I developed my practice over time. I did not initially set out to be an artist, only after earning my BSC in Plant Biology from the University of Benin did I come to the realisation that art was my true passion as I set out to pursue my art career in 2018.
"Untainted Joy"
Oil on canvas
By Amos Osemwengie
What inspired you to utilize painting as a medium?
I think I have always been drawn to exploring various ways to present my artistic skills. I always felt fascinated seeing paintings of older artists around me at the time so I initially started painting with basic postal colours my mum would get for me at the time before I moved into using other mediums like oils which have become my predominant medium, this was greatly inspired by my coming across of the works of classical painters such as Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and John Sergeant to name a few. I simply fell in love with the life that painting with oils brings to my pieces.
"Untainted Joy ii"
Oil on canvas
By Amos Osemwengie
Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind "Untainted Joy"?
"Untainted Joy" is the first piece of a series that was greatly inspired by my current journey with life and also my observation of the collective consciousness of our current times. I feel like we have become so numb to the basic, simple things of life that we forget who we are. our world is greatly driven by money, material things, careers, and political ideologies that keep dividing us. We have become so socially conditioned that we don't even realise it. I wanted to create pieces that reflect back to the times when we weren't aware of these things yet we enjoyed life to the fullest, times when we were lighthearted and scouted through life without a care for the rules of the world. I find that in those times, we appreciated the simplest of things and the joy we derived was simply pure and untainted because they were based on our own collective taste and not what society dictates. I also realised a major part of growing up and finding one's purpose in life has a lot to do with who we were as a child. The series captures those experiences with an aim to learn from them or at least be inspired by them.
Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating "Untainted Joy"?
Every piece all starts with an idea, I tend to ruminate on the ideas that come to me for some time before I proceed to my next step of sketching them out. my sketching process involves searching for brilliant compositions that align with my vision and my aesthetic taste. I then research or create references to guide my vision after which I embark on doing a small painting study just to get a feel of the piece and where I want to take it, I then proceed to my canvas for the main painting which is a process that involves multiple layers of oil paint, I paint this way because I always want my pieces to look rich and feel alive.
"Untainted Joy iii"
Oil on canvas
By Amos Osemwengie
Your work is very vibrant and utilizes bright intense colour; can you discuss why you chose this for your work?
I have a very diversified approach to painting which tends to vary based on the Idea and story I am trying to tell. basically, the idea determines my artistic approach. so for "Untainted Joy" in which my aim was to capture the dreamy exuberance of childhood, I felt the need to use vibrant, beautiful colours to make the painting feel more childlike and exciting. I feel it adds more substance to the painting.
You seem to primarily paint children, can you discuss this?
Though my works in general are not restricted to using children as my subjects, I am always fascinated and inspired by the innocence of children. I feel they are more connected to their humanity than a lot of us adults are, I find kids to be more soulful, intuitive, lighthearted, and connected to the consciousness of nature and since I always like to capture the essence of being human in my paintings, kids will always find their way into my practice.
"Untainted Joy iv"
Oil on canvas
By Amos Osemwengie
Have you experimented with other mediums?
Yes, through my journey as an artist, I have experimented with various mediums such as graphite, charcoal, pastels, acrylic, and oils. watercolor is also another interesting medium that I look forward to incorporating into my practice as well.
"Untamed"
Oil on canvas
By Amos Osemwengie
Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?
In the earlier years of my practice, I tend to always paint very tight, my love for perfection always made me want to smoothen and perfect every edge and area of my paintings but yes there were certain groundbreaking times where during the painting process I make certain mistakes, especially in my first layer where the paints are looser and just drips on its own and then I find that I actually enjoy the look of it and then sometimes I decide to keep it in the final piece.
Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?
I am a very big, fervent music lover and I have always sorted out ways to incorporate my love for music into my artistic practice. so in 2021, I made a piece of Africa's leading Afrobeats artist "Wizkid Ayo", The piece captured the essence of his latest musical project "Made In Lagos" and also the Artist's artistry. I had shared it to my socials and the artist came across the piece, he was greatly pleased and demanded to be a collector of it. I consider it a great success because it was a great start to something I have always wanted to do and also I got to meet with one of my favourite and Africa's biggest music artist.
"Ayahuasca"
Oil on canvas
Amos Osemwengie
What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?
I am embarking on a variety of projects currently, firstly I am also continuing my series of "Untainted Joy" as I still have some amazing ideas from the series that need to be brought to life, I am also experimenting with oils to find more unique ways to bring my subjects to life. my upcoming projects are going to feel very raw and full of life as I draw more inspiration from the human spirit and also explore our connection to nature by incorporating the things that have stood the test of time into my pieces.
What is your dream project or piece you hope to accomplish?
My dream project would be to create a body of work that documents the history and untold stories of some musical legends in my country Nigeria, this is another project where I want to explore my love for music through my traditional art practice. I want to document some of the great influences of today's African music which is taking over the world by storm, I want to tell the stories of these pioneers who may have been forgotten by the public but were the ones who opened the doors for what is happening with African music today.
"Colourful Dreams"
Oil on canvas
By Amos Osemwengie
Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists/photographers, what is your advice?
My advice to any visual artist out there as cliché as it may sound is to simply keep going and keep creating and fulfilling your passions, to not let any form of criticism or comparison bring you down in your practice, and to remember that we all have a story to tell and something significant that will bring value into the world but we have to keep going, trying and experimenting till we find it and also to enjoy the process because that is really what it is all about.
To view more of Amos Osemwengie’s work