Overtime, I noticed people tended to be ashamed to say their native names, and tended to change it into something more modern like shortening it to the point where it looses its original meaning. This piece was created to remind people to be proud of their origins, their names no matter how funny they think it sounds.
It's a three part painting one for each of the major tribes(Yoruba, Igbo & Hausa) in my country (Nigeria). This art is based on the Yorubas, she's dressed in the native attire, and the dove is one of the major motifs in Yoruba culture. I really enjoyed creating this piece, it felt like I finally moved out of my comfort zone, it felt good! I also wrote something like poem for it, you could read at at the the bottom of this post.
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PROCESS
I started with the sketch of the girl, and filled up the background as the inspiration came : )
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Next came the line art, my wrist hurt after a prolonged period of drawing the flowers, but it was worth it!
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Here, I filled in my flats. For better color coordination, I usually create a color palette to serve as a guide when filling my colors. It's super helpful.
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I spent more time on the face because I had a bit of a difficulty trying to get the strokes to blend properly into one another, I left it and worked on other parts of the composition. Along the way, when I worked on it again, it started to look better. Sometimes is better pause when you're not getting the results you expect from something, when you get back to it again, you'll be sure to find a solution
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And lastly, some gorgeous earrings!
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Note: A lot of Yoruba native names (Oriki) start with A, Ajike here means "we wake up to care for"
The Poetry
Say my oríkì and let me feel proud of who I am
As my round cheeks lift in delight
Let me adjust my iro as the onilu drums in tune to sound of your praise
Let me smile as I feel a oneness in hearing the rest of the letters accompanying the A of my oríkì
Sing my name, with a smile
Àjike, jike ke o jike jike ke
And let me feel cared for.
This Artwork was created in Procreate
That's quite nice, I like how the shirt turned out.
Somewhat related, the title and your opening spiel reminded me of a conversation I had back home where one of the "kids" (actually adult aged, just a lot younger than me) was feeling really embarrassed about his Chinese name, complaining that it was "stupid" which triggered a lot of warnings in me x_x
Seems that it might be a more widespread problem than I thought.
Thank you!
Yes it is, in my country, quite a lot of people abandon their native names for more English ones, or leave the native ones in an abbreviated format. I really hope it changes and people feel proud of who they are someday.
Thank you for sharing! xoxo
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Thank you so much!!
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Beautiful one!
Beyond the piece, the cultural story and explanation is quite attractive. Good job boss Lady!
Ayy! Thank you!! I'm glad you think so! Without the story, the piece wouldn't be complete!
I can't agree less!