» Diary Of A Part-Time African Artist «

Inktober, Where Did You Go?

2026-10-26T11:32:18.174+01:00

Today is October 26, and I just re membered that Inktober exists. For those who don't know, Inktober is an annual art challenge started by illustrator Jake Parker in 2009. The idea is simple: make an ink drawing every day throughout October, share your work, and improve your skills through consistent practice. Simple, right? Well, apparently not for me.

African Creatives & Societal Expectations

2024-04-01T12:32:00.001+02:00

In a world where success stories often echo the triumphs of athletes who have soared beyond the confines of their African roots, it's time to shine a spotlight on a different arena of excellence - the realm of artistry. As an African visual artist hailing from Nigeria, I've grappled with the societal perceptions that often belittle the pursuit of artistic endeavors, painting them as frivolous or

Dangote Petroleum Refinery ~ Millions of Nigerians Last Hope

2023-12-21T15:01:00.001+01:00

The $19 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery marked a significant stride towards full-scale production with the delivery of an additional one million barrels of crude oil, bringing the total to two million barrels. This development holds the promise of not only boosting the nation's economy but also alleviating the hardships caused by the soaring cost of petrol in Nigeria.The refinery's

Nairaland Shutdown ~ Why we shouldn't burn it down

2023-12-21T14:23:00.001+01:00

In the wake of recent events, it's hard to ignore the controversies surrounding Nairaland Forum. The temporary takedown has brought to light the need to appreciate the unique aspects that set Nairaland apart, even in the face of its imperfections.Nairaland, often criticized for its occasional descent into negative tribalism, presents a distinct advantage over platforms like Reddit. While some may

Twitter X Downtime: A Glitch, Hack, or Psychological Experiment?

2023-12-21T09:18:00.001+01:00

In recent hours, users of Twitter X, now under the ownership of Elon Musk, have been experiencing an unexpected and perplexing issue – the platform is down, hacked, or simply malfunctioning. As users eagerly navigate to their timelines, they are met with an eerie silence as the feed fails to display the usual stream of tweets. Instead, a peculiar phenomenon unfolds: the platform automatically

Artist Packaging themselves for the Art World with Limited Resources: An African Artist's Journey

2023-11-24T17:15:00.001+01:00

In the bustling city of Bauchi (Nigeria), I find myself juggling between my passion for art and the need for a day job to sustain myself. Balancing these two worlds poses a unique challenge, especially when it comes to marketing and presenting my art.My trusty laptop, albeit fairly effective, faces a significant hurdle – no battery. On the other hand, I have an ancient laptop, so slow that I

Grok and ChatGPT Face Off ~ AI Chat that is not politically correct

2023-11-10T02:03:00.002+01:00

Elon Musk's introduce Ai ChatElon Musk recently unveiled his latest AI chat, Grok, under his Venture XAI initiative. Grok boasts noticeably fewer restrictions compared to its competitors and is promoted as capable of answering questions with a touch of wit and a rebellious streak. The company's website humorously warns against using it if you hate humor, claiming Grok can respond to spicy

Simple drawing but took an hour to draw

2022-11-17T03:50:00.002+01:00

Here is a rough sketch I just made.It ought to be a quick drawing however, it took an hour to draw. The pen wasn't discharging ink the way I wanted, It was very uncomfortable to use.I might attempt the drawing again with a different pen of even different medium.

Qualified for YPP after 12 Years on YouTube

2021-10-09T02:42:00.002+02:00

YPP means; YouTube Partnership Program I have an art YouTube Channel that would be 13 years old this month. The issue is that the channel just wouldn’t grow. This partly due to the infrastructural challenges I have as a citizen of a third world country. I can’t have clear camera and when I manage to get a meritocratic HD video shut with my phone, it is hard and expensive to upload GB

Upcoming Nigerian artist should ignore trying to get into big galleries.

2021-05-10T15:08:00.005+02:00

For the past few years, I have come to the conclusion that it is fruitless chasing the big galleries in Nigeria (if and only if) you are an upcoming Nigerian artist without an art degree.It is better to just grind online and identify yourself as a so called "outsider artist". Ignore the big galleries because they would reject you except you have started making waves on your own. They would

My failing art blog – Is Blogging Dead?

2021-04-06T22:31:00.006+02:00

My failing art blog – Is Blogging Dead? Look at the statistics for my blog. This is discouraging. I would like to boost my traffic. Only 17 views for the whole month? The first thing that came to my mind is that; I must ride trending topics… I might use my intuition to try and figure out how I can do this. Of cause I would document what I do here. Every time I work (when I work), I

AdSense unit display ads after entering PIN

2021-02-26T22:17:00.004+01:00

I finally got my AdSense PIN delivered to me via mail. This is after 5 months of my first request and being demonetised in the first week of February. Coincidentally, a few left-wing political channels on YouTube were kick out of the YPP (YouTube Partnership Program). Guys like Graham Elwood were hit and I am sure if he is patient and smart about it, he would get back in next month. It

Challenging myself daily and trying to apply the philosophy of winning daily

2021-02-09T04:20:00.001+01:00

There was a motivational speech I heard but never saw the speaker. I thought it was Jocko Willink but the speaker cuss a lot and I suspect it isn’t him. The speaker taught that to be a winner, you must try to win daily and if you win every-day (little by little), you would eventually just be a ‘winner’. Basically ‘incremental progress’ explained in a way I have never hear it explained before.

Cultivating artistic discipline by sketching daily

2019-07-09T02:06:00.001+02:00

Ballpoint pen drawing on recycled paper (daily drawing goals). I am an artist who procrastinates a lot. My first attempt at vlogging on YouTube was centred on the habit of procrastination and my struggle to overcome it. I have an overwhelming amount of “great ideas” which unfortunately, can never be fulfilled completely. At the time I published my first vlog, I thought I would make the next

ArtMajeur.com ~ Finally got an eCommerce after a decade

2019-06-02T01:44:00.000+02:00

It sound unbelievable but it’s been 10 years since I last had a functional eCommerce online (where prospective buyers can just purchase my art without

How to copy your Google plus Story after April 2, 2019

2019-04-03T05:32:00.001+02:00

To access your full profile information after the April 2 deadline, go to aboutme.google.com Your information are still intact the exact way they were once displayed on Google+ so you could copy and paste vital information that might have taken you a long time to compose. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle |

Can't post on Nairaland ~ Banned?

2019-01-24T22:55:00.000+01:00

I tried to help someone with an answer to a question (I don’t know why I didn’t mind my business) and I got banned by the antispam bot from posting anything on Nairaland. Right now, I can NOT reply to any thread on Nairaland neither can I start a topic for the next hour. However they have kicked me out of the Art, Graphics & Video section of the forum for the next 3 days.

Strictly Taking Gary Vee’s Advice in 2019 ~ 30 Content Daily

2019-01-02T12:25:00.000+01:00

I want to post more on Nairaland about art. Nairaland is NOT the type of place to meet a lot of art enthusiast. Google demonetize the online forum

Instagram Growth Hack For Artist

2017-11-19T18:12:00.000+01:00

Any social media website I concentrate on, usually grows in it followings and Instagram was not an exception. I joined Instagram in 2014 (when I got my first smart phone) and since then, my page only has about 40 posts (which is evidence of negligence). Until now, I didn’t realise that Instagram is a very important social media platform that could be used to reach many people. I know of artist

VIDEO: My Artistic Struggle With Procrastination

2017-10-28T11:56:00.000+02:00

This is the first Vlog I have ever made. Since I intend on documenting my studio experiences, I had to come in front of a camera and directly address the viewer of a video for the first time ever. It is not in my nature, however, I intend on learning how to do so and change. The video below is my first Vlog post. Click in the (cc) tag to display subtitle (in case you can’t understand what I was

10 reasons HPI-Eureka is my new favourite pen (for making art)

2017-10-27T03:29:00.000+02:00

My new favourite pen (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); For years, I have always used and prefer the so called Lucky Pen for making sketches, especially quick sketches. However, recently, that type of pen is getting scarce. Most people who use it (for writing) dislike the fact that, if you apply pressure when writing, the tip

The $7 worthwhile 'investment' I made in art vlogging

2017-08-17T18:58:00.000+02:00

This is not just an ordinary accessory but a ‘dream come true’. I live in a big town (big in the African perspective), but occasionally, there are somethings I cannot find in the shops. I remember going to many big mobile phone accessories shops and asking for a phone-stand but all of the retailers looked at me like am crazy (because they couldn’t understand what I was asking for and didn’t

How I bought art materials back when I was living in poverty ~ Dusty Northern Bookshops

2017-08-07T10:28:00.000+02:00

The greatest period of my artistic journey was when I was at the early stages of learning. I was passionate about making art and as soon as I finished one, I would hang it on the wall and start creating another (because the art I just finished ignited 4 other ideas I could try). However, back then I didn’t have a job. I was an unemployed teenager and used my pocket-money to finance my passion