All arts pieces are challenging – Umar

Although Yusuf Olayinka Umar began his arts journey with oil on canvas as his preferred medium, he found himself along the line gearing towards ballpoint drawings which has now become his second most preferred medium. In this Interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, Umar narrates how he’s able to balance his artistic expression between two mediums.

Can you tell us about your journey into the world of oil painting on canvas and how you discovered your passion for this medium?

My journey into exploring with the medium (oil on canvas) began in 300 level during my undergraduate days in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. As an art student specializing in painting, oil on canvas was a compulsory medium for executing most tasks given. So, I would say it was more of tradition and a primary medium with the Zaria school of art for grooming its students.

What draws you to using oil as your primary painting medium? How does it influence your creative process?

Oil is a timeless medium which has been around for centuries and it is bound to be here for years. Aside its popularity and usage by many artists over the years, the medium happens to be my first professional medium to come in contact with and the first to explore with. However, with consistent usage which is triggered by some its qualities such as flexibility in usage, slow drying process, which gives room for application of colours in layers and time to revisiting to easily fix or make corrections when working with the medium. Also, the vibrant outcome equally contributes to my interest in the medium.

Could you share some insights into the techniques or approaches you use when working with oil paints to achieve certain effects in your artwork?

Aside the conventional usage of brushes and pallet knives, I came up with leaf print technique as an alternative to the artists’ brush or pallet knives. This technique involves applying oil paint on leaf veins which are imprinted on canvas to create forms, the outcome gives a pastel looking finishing.

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Transitioning to your ballpoint pen drawings, what inspired you to incorporate this seemingly contrasting medium into your artistic practice?

I am inspired by the close juxtaposition of series of lines to create tonal gradation and form. Ball point pen is a medium which I find challenging because of its limitations and complexity in usage if I must say, because in this case you have to be extremely careful, calculative and decisive when laying a stroke because it does not give room for erasing an error or mistake.

How does the experience of working with ballpoint pens differ from oil painting? Are there any unexpected challenges or benefits?

These are two different experiences. Working with ball point pen always put me in careful and calculative mood because I would not want to make mistake or ruin the drawing, while working with oil is more of a relaxing mood.

Your oil paintings seem to convey a sense of depth and texture. How do you translate these qualities into your ballpoint pen drawings, considering the limitations of the medium?

With the king of technique, I have chosen to use, which is the thatching technique, the technique creates a feeling of texture, while I achieve depth with the density of strokes that are being created.

Can you describe a particularly memorable or challenging piece you’ve created using ballpoint pen, and what you learned from that experience?

All pieces are quite challenging because of the time spent on each piece, but most of them all is a piece titled “Solitude” this is because I had to depict the patterns on the fabric worn by the subject.

How does your choice of subject matter vary between your oil paintings and ballpoint pen drawings? Are there themes or concepts that you find better suited to one medium over the other?

Yes. My choice of subject varies. In most cases, my portraitures are executed with oil because of its flexibility and room to make necessary corrections when needed. This is something I cannot easily do when it comes to ball point drawing.

What does your ideal workspace look like when you’re working on an oil painting versus a ballpoint pen drawing?

Quiet and searing for both.

Colour seems to play a significant role in your oil paintings. How do you approach colour theory in your artwork, and how does this consideration differ when you’re working with black ink in your pen drawings?

This can be quite challenging for me whenever I want to execute a painting, but I think my personality plays an important role in my choice and usage of colour. Contrasting and calm colours play dominant role in my choice of colours. While in my pen drawings, dominancy of strokes is depicted in subtle manner to depict calmness.

Some artists find that using different mediums allows them to explore different aspects of their artistic identity. How do your oil paintings and ballpoint pen drawings express different facets of your creativity?

I would say that my choice of medium depends on the message which I’m trying to pass across to my audience. If I wanted to create something that expresses rage, I could decide to go for the ballpoint pen because I will be more creative with my strokes and lines. If I were to use oil paint, then I’d have to think of what colours that will match up to the expression.

When you’re faced with artist’s block or creative challenges, do you find that switching between oil painting and ballpoint drawing helps rekindle your inspiration? How do you navigate these moments?

Yes. Most of my works are done in oil, but I find myself executing some of my works in ball point pen whenever I lack inspiration on what next to do with oil, drawing with pen serves an inspiration and time to think on what next to do on canvas.

What advice would you give to fellow artists interested in experimenting with different mediums in their work, as you’ve done with oil and ballpoint pens?

They should look for ways to harness both media to create a mode of expression.

Looking ahead, do you envision any new directions or projects where you’ll continue to blend these two distinct mediums in innovative ways? Can you give us a glimpse of what’s on the horizon for your artistic journey?

Currently, my new body of works tries to capture the complexity of the human mind using the liquidized painting technique to render the human form. This is to bring to the fore how feelings are interwoven and mixed in the human mind.