Bibi is a female nigerian artist, proud of her african heritage. An autodidact, she has been schooled by life and her travels, creating artworks which are a product of her experiences. She employs a combination of different styles, media and processes for each piece, depending on where she draws her inspiration from. Here is her day in the life.
My day usually starts very early in the morning from 6am, because I am a mother of two beautiful girls: Zoé in grade 2 and Fleur, the youngest, in grade 1. After breakfast we leave to school around 7:30 am. When I get back from dropping off my kids, I make a nice cup of coffee to start my own day.
I believe art has no plan, so I never make plans for my day when it comes to my art. I start from what I was working on the previous day. I spend a great amount of my time in my kitchen since it has the best light coming through during the day time. Since I am an artist/mom working from home, I have a lot of laundry, cooking and cleaning to do too; that way my kitchen makes a perfect studio.
Basically I have just six hours of peace and quiet to paint before my kids gets back from school, my music keeps playing at the back and my cup of tea helps making my time relaxing and smooth.
I used to paint on big canvases only, but recently I have started enjoying painting on small canvases too. The different sizes require a different skill set.
Visiting the Alserkal Avenue which houses twenty-five or more galleries and creative spaces in the industrial part of the city (Dubai). Seeing new exhibitions helps to motivate and create new ideas for my next projects, I often plan my visits with friends, as it is a great way to keep in touch
For a more adventures day I plan a trip to the old part of Dubai to the old town, spice souk, and textile souk…
The business of the city and its vivant atmosphere and colors all around, make me feel at home. The diversity and the intensity of community life is always a great source of inspiration. And the significant smell of all the spices tops off the whole experience.
My time alone ends when my kids get back from school. After doing their homework, we spend some time at the park where I continue to paint while the kids are playing. I have gotten used to the constant noise of kids playing around me while I work, it is part of my work experience.
My evenings usually end with some sketching and a warm cup of green tea. For me, sketching is just another way of relaxing. I don’t use sketches as the beginning of a new painting. Starting a painting without having a plan or sketch seems to be more my ideal way to start. I work my way through a painting till I start seeing what I actually have in mind; changes are made as the days go by till I finally come to agree with myself.
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