“Art is bringing different elements that naturally do not exist together to create something that is envisioned in your mind in a bid to express yourself.” – Ariyo Adeoluwa, 2025.
I consider myself something of an aesthete; this description extends far more than the appreciation of written art like poetry, essays, fiction, and nonfiction; it cuts across the beauty of photography, cinematography, fashion, beats produced by producers in the studio, and just about anything that shows the creative expression of the human mind.
With this eye for appreciation, I sat down with the incredibly talented Ariyo Adeoluwa of the 2K24 class to discuss his journey so far as an artist and everything that has come with it.
All thanks to Mr. Adeogun, who taught Fine Art at King’s International College, Moniya, Ibadan. This man nurtured the artistic seed in a young Ade, but Ade left it to wither after secondary school, choosing to focus on academics and other pursuits while trying to gain admission into the university. He, however, returned to it during the 2020 COVID-19 break
Ade was a traditional artist who has now transitioned into a 2D digital artist. His reason for this is the flexibility of time that being a digital artist affords him. In his words, “In my opinion, being a digital artist gives me the privilege of balancing schoolwork with art better. With digital art, I could just go to the Odeku library after a ward round and continue drawing on my iPad. If it were traditional, I’d have to go back to my hostel or even go home because that’s where most of my supplies are, and that’s not very feasible all the time.”. This answers the ever-present ‘How do you balance being a creative with school?’ question.
As much as he dreads resuming school after about four months of the strike, he thinks it’s high time it was called off. He is eager to resume because he is trying to find a niche in medical illustrations. Mr. Ariyo concedes, although reluctantly, that he sees himself as an academic person—unlike this writer—career-wise, and his time in medical school has shown him just how much of a gap there is in using art to communicate conditions and concepts to medical students; he strongly feels using art in this regard can be explored more.
‘I get ideas and inspiration in the bathroom all the time.’ Ade is one of those creatives who lock in when doing business in the bathroom. He believes inspiration is anything and everywhere, and with art, your imagination is your limit. For example, he reimagined what he thought the art cover for Ayo Maff’s Panic should look like just because it was his favourite song at the time and he listened to it a lot.
As for learning, Mr. Adeogun already imparted the fundamentals to him in secondary school. Now, he pays for online courses using mobile applications like Domestika to further his learning in digital art.
Ade believes art is not so much about talent; he doesn’t believe academic artists are better than self-taught artists. His advice to other creatives is, ‘Regardless of your social media numbers, just keep on creating and pushing. You must create because you want to create. If you’re focusing on the numbers and money, it creates some sort of pressure, which can lead to creative blocks.’ In the same breath, he conceded that money is very important, and the most he has made from any art is $500, which he won from Breathe (2023).
Reminiscing on his art, Adeoluwa shared that one of the highs in his art journey was when he won third place in the 49th Street Art Challenge with Fragment of Chaos (2024). He, however, still maintains that Breathe (2023) is his favourite artwork because it showed the massive improvement in his shading technique at the time and because he has a bit of emotional attachment to it.
On new projects, Mr. Ariyo Adeoluwa has new art out and a lot more cooking. His latest piece, a clear visual aid on diagnostic abdominal paracentesis (which looks like it was plucked right out of a medical textbook), already resonates with a lot of his medical colleagues. Also, he has another medical illustration on its way. He awaits certification from the 12th International Award on Scientific and Nature Illustration, ILLUSTRACIENCIA. Keep up with all new works and connect with him on his socials
Instagram: thefree_illustrates
Gerald Olokungbemi
