July 04, (THEWILL) – Tessy Idehen is only in her early 20s, but she has succeeded in making her art gallery one of the most sought-after in the country. In this interview with IVORY UKONU,she talks about her career, life and other matters. Excerpts:
How long have you been a painter?
I have been a painter all my life. I started by experimenting with colours, then decided to go and study it properly in school.
How did it start?
My late dad inspired my love for painting. He was a painter. As a child, I always watched him working in his studio. Besides, I love beautiful things and I like to replicate them in any form, especially through painting. In junior secondary school, where you have to make a choice between the arts, science or social science, I remember being confused about making the right choice. I wanted to become an accountant because I loved to count money. At the same time, I had a passion for art. Eventually I settled for what I loved most, which was art. When I was in Auchi Polytechnic, I had my one-year industrial attachment in a commercial bank. My experience there made me decide to choose painting as my career. It is as if I was born for this. I can stand on my feet all day painting without getting tired or hungry. It is called passion. Now the interesting thing about painting is that, before I gained admission to Auchi Polytechnic, I was a regular face at the University of Benin with my sketch pad, pencils and brushes. I would go to the art class and beg to join the students. They thought it was odd as I was not yet a student, just an ambitious young lady who wanted to hone her skill in art. I would go to some of the students and beg them to mentor me and help me to improve on my skill. Eventually they allowed me to attend some of their lectures. People thought I was one of them, but I wasn’t. I just didn’t want to sit at home idling away when I could judiciously spend my time honing my craft. I even made friends with some of the lecturers who encouraged and inspired me to pursue my interest in art.
How did your dad react to your decision to follow in his footsteps?
He was happy and often told me he could see himself in me. Unfortunately, he isn’t alive today to see how far I have come. He wasn’t even alive when I decided to take up painting as a career.
Is there anyone else in your family who loves to paint?
Yes, my kid brother. But he isn’t quite as keen as I am about it. So I would say that I am the only professional painter in my family.
When did you decide to go professional?
When I was in school. I was doing this on the side. Of course, I had to pay more attention to my studies. However, I went professional after graduating from school in 2018. I was posted to Bauchi State for national youth service, but I cancelled it because I didn’t want to fall victim to killer herdsmen. I was scared and decided to skip youth service. Then I started painting in my room. I would take samples of my works to people in gyms, beauty salons and anywhere else I would find potential customers. I would convince them to allow me to draw a portrait of them. Of course, they saw me as a young female and they never hesitated to beat down my charges, which were quite measly at the time. But I didn’t relent. So, little by little, I started to save some money and rented a small place in Asaba. The patronage continued to grow and then I had to get a bigger space for my art gallery. But I am not there yet, I am still growing.
You have a huge art gallery in Asaba. What made you to move to Lagos? Why didn’t you go to Abuja or Port Harcourt instead?
I get clients from there as well, but I am expanding. After some time, I will extend my tentacles to those places. I chose Lagos because when you do sponsored advertisements on social media, you get to see where the majority of your clients are based. My sponsored advertisements showed that I was servicing more people in Lagos than any other place, although I was based in Asaba. But I was reluctant to make a move because I felt Lagos was too stressful. Besides, I felt I had made appreciable progress in Asaba. But I had to succumb to a wise business decision and left my comfort zone. I had already kept some money aside to do body enhancement. So I decided to use the money to rent a place for my business in Lekki phase 1. At first, I was discouraged by the cost, which is like five times what my huge gallery cost in Asaba, but I decided to brave it. I have no cause to regret my decision so far.
There are obviously more men in your profession than women. Were you at any point discouraged from choosing this career path?
No. I believe that everyone has their destined path mapped out. I also believe that what a man can do, a woman can do, if not better. When I was in school, only three ladies were in my class. The rest were men. Surprisingly, I have had a lot of encouragement from the men folk. Only a few people have turned up their noses at what I do, particularly colleagues. I have had to battle with my social media accounts being reported, blocked or pulled down. I mean this is the avenue through which I advertise the works of my hand. As far as I am concerned, my detractors can only try, but they can’t discourage me. I believe that if you are in a hole and you are good at what you do, people will find you. Also, everyone’s grace is different.
What are some of the challenges of your profession?
Well, some people who think there is a lot of money to be made from art work, now dabble into the sale of it. A lot of ladies now call themselves interior decorators and sell art works alongside interior decorating items. So they buy mass produced art works, which is quite different from handmade ones. Also, Nigerians are only just beginning to appreciate and value art. The majority don’t know the effort that goes into producing one piece. They will haggle over an art work of about N400,000 until they get to a ridiculous sum, forgetting that, like jewellery, art works can be used as collateral and they can be liquidated for funds. They will tell you that it is better to go to roadside painters to get a cheap art work and display it in their sitting room. For this reason, I try not to do a lot of realism (detailed and accurate representation of scenes, objects, humans) with my paintings. I prefer to do more of expressionism, an artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but subjective emotions and responses, so that once they see it, they will appreciate the level of work that has gone into it.
Have you held any art exhibition since you went professional?
Yes. I have held several exhibitions in Asaba, but none in Lagos yet. I hope to do that soon.
How has being a professional artist impacted on you?
I can’t imagine myself not doing this because it has really impacted me in many ways. My lifestyle has changed as a result. I see life differently now. I barely go out to have fun; my painting is my friend and my gallery is my night club. This is where my future lies and I intend to let the world know that I came and I made an impact though art.
How do you relax when you are not painting?
I watch movies and seek more ways to improve on what I do. I don’t keep friends.
If you weren’t an artist, what else would you have excelled in?
Fashion design. As a child, I was always playing with clothes and creating designs, by using cardboards, for my dolls and this prompted my dad to register me in a fashion designing house. In fact, I am looking at incorporating fashion designing into my business.
What advice would you give to a young lady who looks up to you and wants to become an artist?
It is not a walk in the park. Be determined, prayerful and humble. Seek out colleagues who are in the same industry with you and rub minds with them. Art work is not like fast food or provision stores where money comes in everyday. In our world, you could go for months without making any money, but when it comes, it is often in a big way, such that for a year, you may not need to do anything.
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