#2 Drey: Beaten and Rejected... But Still Standing

We had spent close to 200K, and that was excluding the time and effort we had dedicated to this project, only for it to go to waste. But we didn't stop there.

Thank you for your time. We appreciate it. Can we meet you?

Okay…Uhhh, Thank you. My name is Adeyera Oluwadamilare. I'm a student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Department of Agricultural Economics. If you're talking about my background; I attended The Jewels College Nursery and Primary School and Command Day Secondary School. I think that's all.

Alright. Thank you. You're here because you're an artist and also a student; So tell us, how did you get started with being an artist?

Uhhh...Well, as an Artist, I majorly drew before but in recent times I’ve moved into other types of art.

How did you get started?

Art is something I have been doing right from primary school. Back then, I used to draw and I would get beaten for wasting my 60 leaves note on it. I drew for fun in secondary school but after my graduation, It took some time for me to gain admission so most of it died down.

Recently around 2016/2017,  I met someone that brought that fire back up in me. The guy runs an Art Studio and I was opportune to visit him. I saw a lot of stuff that inspired and fascinated me.

The guy didn’t do only drawings, he was into painting and all. I was like, "Wow! This is brilliant!! I can do this". At least,  I knew I had the basic knowledge of all this and that was all it took for me to get back into Art.

That was how you started and kept working up to this point?

Yeah.

Okay. Thank you. We understand that being a student and an artist simultaneously could be tough. So, tell us, how do you handle being a student and an artist?

Being a student and an artist is not easy at all. Uhh... There are times you have an idea in your head and you decide to bring it to life. When you remember the workload you have, you'll be like, “Oh, let me keep this for another time”. 

There is no time at all…

There are a lot of times I feel that way. I could be walking on the road and I get an idea I can work on but when I get home, I discover I have an assignment to submit or some other activity and I just have to keep it for another time.

Ideas are Inspirations. At times, you might have those things in your head and when you do remember later, they are gone. The thing is, I try as much as possible to create time for my work no matter what because being an artist requires you to practice constantly.

If you don’t, you would discover that you might have to relearn the things you learned before, so I try as much as possible to find time for myself. 

There was this time I got a big sketchbook that I took everywhere. So even if I get a little alone time, I would use it to gather my thoughts into the paper.

From everything you said, you tried to create time to create art?

Yeah.

So you won't lose the creativity and technicalities involved. 

Exactly.

Ahhh, I can’t wait to graduate because there are plenty of opportunities that come up that I have to bypass or reject as a student.

For instance; There was a friend of mine that invited me to an exhibition but I discovered a test had been fixed on that day so I had to decline.

You speak with clients and discover that you can’t meet up with the time frame because you have to go to classes; you have to attend lectures and all. It’s quite difficult, it’s not easy.

How have you been dealing with these challenges?

From the creativity aspect, I try as much as possible to create. Creating is not easy. When creating on my own, I take as much time as possible. 

In Art, the results you get depends on how patient and devoted you are, so I try as much as possible to allocate enough time for myself. With each day, I strive to work on something.

Speaking about collecting jobs; sometimes I do it overnight and sometimes I make sure I get home early after classes just to have adequate time to work.

We know you're a student of Obafemi Awolowo University. So, what is the creative community like in your school?

There are quite a lot of artists in OAU. As we all know, there's a department offering Fine and Applied Art and another offering Visual Art, so there are a lot of art students in OAU.

I've had the chance to meet a lot of them. I know some of them and I even work with some. But then, it's not easy. When there's a lot of artists in a place and there are limited jobs… [chuckles]

So is there any official art community you can recommend to upcoming artists reading this interview? 

Yeah. I'm in a group called IFE ART FORUM; It's a community where those that are vast in this line of work help those that are coming up. It's a good platform.

Okay. For those that want to join the community, Is there a social platform they can connect with or how do they join?

Well, I don't know about a social media platform but I know there's a  WhatsApp group.

Alright. Thank you. 

What is your creative process like? When you have an idea or a project to work on, how do you go about it?

As I said; To me, Art is diverse. I specialize in different kinds of art. Before I was only into drawing but, I'm also painting now. There's also an aspect called collage, which involves creating something with random and ordinary things, so the process depends on the kind of art I'm creating. 

For drawing, I get the materials I need like cardboard, paper, pencil. And for painting, I get a canvas and all other things I need and start working.

What are the tools you use while creating? Your Most Used Tools?

Most used...The easiest to get should be the most used for me. And these are the pencil, pen, paper, eraser and all.

As we all know, Covid 19 changed a lot of things. Even now, many are still adapting to the new normal. So, tell us how has Covid 19 affected or Impacted you as a student and as a creative? 

I would say Covid-19 has been positive because I got to have more time to myself. I had adequate time to come up with creative ideas, so it was favorable for me. In terms of getting jobs, I got a ton of jobs during the lockdown because people had sufficient time to think of getting artworks such as frames and the likes to improve their space and put their houses in order.  

Yeah. So basically, Covid 19 was helpful to you as an artist.

Have you felt like quitting Art?

Yes, I have. That was around 2017/18. I and some friends formed a group and worked on a project. We funded the project ourselves and were able to complete it.  We tried getting into an exhibition that day and after spending a lot of money transporting the arts;  all our works were rejected. I mean all. They were about 15 in number and we were devastated.

We had spent close to 200K, and that was excluding the time and effort we had dedicated to this project. There were times we had sleepovers just so we could finish the work on time, only for it to go to waste. For some days, we didn't get ourselves. We were down and I was at my lowest.

How did you survive after this experience? Now, many people would have stayed down but you didn't. Two years later, you're still creating. Enlighten us, how did you handle that episode?

The thing is -- Uhmm. Well, At that point, we stopped working but then we thought about the fact that a lot of people have gone through this same process. They have gotten their work rejected and are doing a lot better now. 

In the end, We reflected on what the man at the exhibition had told us.  He said, “You guys have tried but this is not the kind of work that sells”. He explained a lot of things to us.

 At the end of the day we studied what we had created because the man had also told us that, “With this kind of creation, you need something unique to sell more”. 

That was the push we needed. We sought out ways to get better and soon enough, our efforts paid off. We did some 4-5 works later and we sold, so that inspired us to continue.

That’s wonderful. What project or piece of work are you most proud of?

Ahhhh...Yes, I did one recently, It was a celebrity. Now, there was a point where I was not interested in drawing celebrities. Well, not until recently did I meet a man.  He was selling art and was also a collector. I was able to work with him on a project that had to do majorly with important figures.

I was charged with drawing the figures for him to sell and although we didn’t finish the project due to some financial constraints, I am proud of most of the works I did for him and I am always delighted to show people that I did it.

You've talked about being creative.  And as a creative, it is very important to stay creative. So as an artist, how do you stay creative?

You know I mentioned earlier that at some point I had to get a sketchpad to jot down my ideas. There are times when I'm alone, reading or when I feel bored that I try to think of things because as an artist, you imagine and look at things in different ways.

You might see something and focus on it and people are like “what are you looking at?” but they can’t understand because whatever I'm looking at; I'm getting different ideas, seeing different ways I can put it down and different ways I can use it to tell a story. 

That's why I go about with my sketchpad to put down the rough ideas so I can work on them later. 

So, basically, you let your imagination run wild.

Yeah, exactly… I free my mind.

Outside of creating Art, How do you have fun? How do you relax? What are the activities you do to have fun?

Aside from this, I play video games. I try to do sport because we all know it’s good to keep fit.

Video games and sport. That's all you do outside of creating art and being a student.

Yeah. I also listen to music.

Do you have creatives that inspire you? People, that are ahead of you or even fellow creatives like you?

Ahh...There are a lot

Mention a few of them.

In this line of work, there are a lot. I know Heavenly Art, Mayor Art. I saw one yesterday and I was amazed. She’s like a printer. She puts every little detail into the book. Diya Irewale , Dotun Popoola , Toromade , Heather Rooney , etc,

Who is the one artist or creative you would like to work or collaborate with on a project?

Well…In a project, I think there's a lady I saw recently. She's not from around here, but she's into digital art. She tells stories and is also into poetry. She has a lot of ideas she tries to bring into pictures. I feel that with the works that I've seen, we could project her ideas more If I got a chance to work with her. I would love to collaborate with her. This could be with Mariana_Arts1, Johnsonmaryann5.

Do you have a dream brand or company you would like to work with?

[chuckles] I would love to work with Irewale Multimedia Art, DC Comics.

We are almost rounding up. Any advice for anyone looking to get started in Art?

My advice is:

“Art takes a lot of patience. If you’re patient you should be able to develop better. I remember when I started; I would always rush into things, try to finish early, and want to see the result”. 

That’s one thing about artists; whenever you start something you are in a hurry to see the result of whatever you are doing. You should take it aspect by aspect. You can decide to take one part and take your time to check through whatever you have been doing. 

Development is a process, you might be looking at people that are better and say you want to be like them but then; have you checked what you've been doing, your progress? Are you on the right track? Because it’s in stages, you can’t just wake up and say you want to be drawing like this person and you do. You have to practice to get there. Don’t relent, don’t stop, keep working, and you will see the result.

How can you be reached?

I am DreyArts on Instagram and Drey_Arts on Twitter.

Thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

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Takeaway Nuggets: He faced obstacles and came out stronger. Do you come out stronger after every difficulty or you stay down? Think about it.

Remember the quote: “Tough times never last, Tough people do”. And be strengthened in your spirit that you will make it.

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