Published via Ecency

Welcome to my hyper realistic pen drawing of my dear friend "Nana Firdaus. She inspired me and also, she reminded me of how our delicate it is to be a child.
Below is my inspiration description.

Pen on Paper... Innocence #1

"The First Garden"

It was on a sunny day in a remote part of Ogun state (some place in Nigeria). that's where I live. It's not that I chose to live there, in fact if you ask me, I'd tell you, "Hey baby, I wanna go to Lagos, Lekki to be precise" But hey, I stay in a place where you'd see calabash or "calabashes" and trees that had white clothes tied around them and palm oil sprinkled on them, we call it Ebo which means Sacrifice in Yoruba.

But, I did not grew up there, I did not grew up in the calabash and chief priests infested community or rather village. I grew under the warmth of a mother, and father, and loving siblings. I grew in the church, I grew hearing Jesus, and how He usually wear a white robe and a red scarf around him.

(I always begin with the hair)

I grew with a phrase I usually tell my mother "mum, I'll buy you an airplane" I would never forget this phrase.

I grew reading stories, sketching cartoons, I kept a company of art lovers while in primary school. I loved Tuface songs, especially that one where he sang about fire being in a lady's eyes. I wondered why he had to use bald headed ladies in his song "African Queen"

20 years after, I am still these things, I still love stories, I still love sketching, I still keep a company of artist friends, my taste for music changed though, I still love Tuface (a musician in my country), but right now? Asa tops my list, Brymo too.

These things were planted in my heart as a kid. Since our heart is like a garden where fruits grows, where characters forms, My heart as a Kid was my first garden, where the love of art was planted, love of music, stories, love of people. As I grew, these characters grew, and are still growing.

If children in Sefu, the community filled with illiteracy and idolatry, if dey grow up without proper orientation, without parental love, without seeing things that will make them want to say "Daddy, I want to be a pilot, or Daddy, I want to be something else than a mere carpenter or a mere hairdresser who dresses people's hair in a wooden kiosk" if they grow up seeing things that will not spur their minds, the seed of lack of self-worth, poverty etc. will find a resting place in their HEARTS, and it will grow if no one wakes up to the consciousness of being a saviour.

The heart is like a garden, where characters are formed. Children are very tender and delicate, they should be treated with care. Sow seeds in children, seeds that will grow as they grow, seeds that will make them think aright even in the absence of adults.

I hope you'd start seeing kids as potential great people. Cheers to Simi my annoying bro. and to Nana my muse. This is a very personal piece. lol. To my unseen friends whom I love.

Every great artist was once an amateur like me...

-Ajayi Oluwashogo

TECHNICALLY DESCRIPTION...

Ball point pen has a principle of cross hatching. That is laying strokes in multiple directions to achieve a smooth texture. I will rather call it "multiple cross hatching"
I spent a period of one month because I had to work as well.