On the maiden edition of our art profile section, we are putting a talented graphic artist/photographer in the spotlight. He goes by the name of Niyi Okeowo. Niyi, who is going to be 23 in June specializes in what he calls 'faux digital painting'. He has rich digital paintings of artistes such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and Basquiat.
Niyi who is a graduate of Convenant University in Nigeria started doing graphic designs in his first year at university. "I started designing with macromedia fireworks. I would do magazine covers and show some friends. Then I found photoshop and started to experiment with it. There were days I would just stare at the screen for hours. It took me like 5 months to understand the basics... because of school work and all" says Niyi on how he started.
Looking at his works, it's pretty much obvious that he is a student of pop art. "Yeah you know pop art is like what is dope, its colourful and stuff. Pop art takes its inspiration from everything around the world- artists like Takashi Murakami, Kaws and Jeff koons...what they are creating or have created...if you look closely all of them have something to do day to day objects and stuff"says Niyi Okeowo.
Music plays a huge part in what influences this artiste. "A lot, there are times where I have to get in the right mood to come up with stuff, If I am feeling dark and sh*t, I go to Lorde, Lana Del Rey and maybe a bit of Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
The music determines the tone of what I'm creating. If I'm going to create something happy and colorful, then I'm going to listen to some techno or synth pop.. music with that futuristic kind of beat. Yeah basically the music determines my mood, and in the end determines the design. Its' like throwing a great party you know, you cant have a dope party without good music...
Photography or Designing
I can't really say.. design is what I started with, and its been cool. Photography is cool too. I guess I like both of them equally since they go hand in hand anyways. To create a nice design or composition, you need good pictures.
Niyi's favourite artistes/bands
1. Of Monsters and Men
2. Bon Iver
3. La Roux
4. Vampire Weekend
5. Chrvches
6. Wzrd
7. Florence and the machine...
Niyi's other works
