ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a Nigerian born, American trained Artist, currently residing in the United Kingdom as an artist with a creative and unique personal style. I do paintings in acrylic and watercolour, but my favoured medium is oil paints. Most of my recent paintings were influenced by the political and social upheaval of our world today and the works of Renaissance artists.
I desire my portrait paintings to be uniquely creative. I do not copy images from pictures. I create what a camera cannot create. I use portrait paintings to tell the stories about my subjects and often use my subjects’ professions to create their portraits as did with the portrait of Professor Wole Soyinka, 1986 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature in painting “SOYINKA: An Africans’ Literary Icon”
The theme of my works, in general, is "The Facts of Life: Roses and Thorns." Life is roses and thorns; sometimes it emanates the sweet aroma of pleasantness and sometimes it pricks and causes pains. I often use Roses and Thorns for portrait paintings of the facts of life of people. I first used Roses and Thorns in my political painting - “THE BLEEDING ROSES”. Since then I adopted this floral iconography style - Roses and Thorns as my own unique style in some of my paintings like “DOMESTIC ABUSE”, GELE (African Head Wrap): Vintage and Modern, SENSUALITY1: Pain and Pleasure and others. Roses are for achievements and other positive parts of life and Thorns are painful challenges and negative parts of life.
BIOGRAPHY
O Yemi has exhibited his works around the world and received numerous awards and recognitions. His works "SOYINKA: an Africans Literary Icon" is one of the works shortlisted by the Emerging Scene Art Prize and showcased across Elevision's network of 1200 digital screens in Dubai. His works were exhibited in Art Revolution Taipei Taiwan international Group exhibition in 2020 and 2021, His works were awarded 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th places in political commentaries in American Art Awards from 2014 to 2020. He was recipient Golden Award with cash award in 2014 Master of Art International exhibition by Margarita Feaks Gallery, UK. He also received First Round Award with cash in Art Olympia 2015 International Open exhibition in Tokyo Japan.
O. Yemi Tubi was the winner of the QC64 Best Show award with cash prize in fine art category with his work “GELE (Africans’ Head Wrap): Vintage and Modern Winter 2021. His work was awarded “The Artist of the Future Award” by the Contemporary International Magazine in November 2020 and 1st Place (Best in Show) winner by Tall Sequoia Gallery, Toronto Canada in 2020. His works are one of the top 25 in the Fine Art category of Creative Quarterly Magazine and awarded 100 Best Annual 2019 Fine Arts Award Certificate. He works have been published in some Newspapers, Magazines, and art books. His works were published in 2019 ART Habens Art Review, Biennial Edition published in Issuu Vol. 49; 2019 MURZE Arts Magazine; Issue 4, January/February Issue 2019 and 2019 Quotes: Inspirational Quotations / Creative Responses’ book.
His works were published in 2020 The March MASS: MATRIARCHY Monthly online Magazine, CQ’s100 Best Annual 2019 for Fine Arts, and Creative Quarterly International Art Magazine. His works were published in 2018 ARTtour International Magazine ATIM’S Top 60 Masters of Contemporary Art. O. Yemi’s winning works in 2017 were published in www.Huffingtonpost.com by America Art Award as “World’s Best political Painters” and “World’s Best celebrity Portrait Artists. His interview and some of his was published in Africa.com.
O. Yemi Tubi’s portfolio are on https://www.o-yemi-tubi.pixels.com https://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/Moyat/, and O Yemi Tubi | Saatchi Art
O. Yemi is a member of the Fine Art America, the Society of All Artists, AERA –the Association Embracing Realistic Art Circle Foundation for the arts and WCA- World Citizen Artists, and Langley Arts Council. International Association of Visual Artist IAVA and Visual Artists Association (VAA).
Website https://www.o-yemi-tubi.pixels.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/oyemit
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/yemi.arts
