Nurturing Dreams with Landscape Paintings
Yinka Olatunbosun
Where words fail, paintings tell the story. That may be true for the self-taught Nigerian artist, Abibat Adedayo whose flair for nature easily manifests in her preoccupation with landscape paintings. Initially, nature took her through a different career path when she studied Agriculture at University of Ilorin. To unwind, she would paint for pleasure at her stolen moments sometimes in between the classes. Painting was thus an escapism for her to nurture her dreams of bridging the gap between imagination and nature. The 2020 pandemic gave her more time to focus, explore and was indeed a turning point in her career.
Moving to the UK expanded her worldview; giving her access to new art communities, galleries and opportunities. By observing paintings from Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe and Claude Monet, she developed her brand of aesthetics that is unique to her yet timeless and universal. Her paintings tell stories not just about the world outside, but the world within. From observing sunset to a disappearing path, Adedayo created a mental reservoir for memories, emotions, hope and change. Thus, landscape painting becomes her authentic voice as well as a powerful language to explore subject matters and themes often seen as difficult or delicate in public discourse.
In her painting titled ‘Echoes of Motherland’ which was selected for the Borders and Connections Exhibition organized by Cista Arts, United Kingdom, she interrogates cultural identity, heritage and belongings while finding the nexus between personal roots and the ever-expanding horizons.
Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s animated worlds, she balances reality with a dreamlike sense of wonder. Often times, the young artist would use winding roads or paths in her paintings as personal symbols to represent growth, uncertainty and self-discovery. Her choice of medium is varied: acrylics for their boldness, oils for their richness, watercolours for their softness.
With Moonlight Safari, she captures that deep nighttime atmosphere when everything is hushed and the moon – despite its rather mysterious existence- is the only natural source of light. The artist uses the work to invite quiet reflection while using colours to transmit life and energy.
The first-class graduate of Agriculture drew upon those early experiences such as the shapes of farmlands, the soil textures, and still sees many parallels between agriculture and landscape painting as both demand observation, patience, and a kind of stewardship.
This is quite evident in yet another piece titled ‘Sunset Drive II’ which she exhibited at the ‘Echos: The Art of Preservation’ alongside 19 other artists at Fuse Box, Kingstone, United Kingdom. The work allows for introspection and focus as the eyes travel along the winding path. Amplifying themes of journey and a search for fulfillment, this painting transcends a visual representation of nature to express the idea of soul travel. Her landscapes are metaphors for resilience, self-discovery, and transitions giving people permission to pause, breathe, reflect.
Her use of colour, recurring motifs like winding roads, fluffy surreal clouds, and subtle changes in light and sky are all intentional. The clouds, often reflect the emotional tone of the piece while using colour theory to heighten emotion using warm and cool contrasts to create energy or stillness.
One of Adedayo’s biggest moments in recent time was being selected for the RBSA Friends Exhibition in 2023, which led to her first international exhibition at the RBSA Gallery in Birmingham in 2024. She has been selected for several online international exhibitions including “The Colours of the Soul” hosted by Artistic Hub Magazine in Switzerland (2024), “Landscape POV” hosted by Part Crowd Art Gallery in Toronto, Canada (December, 2024). She is currently showing works at the Magan Art Gallery in Tooting, London, as part of their Spring Tide Exhibition, which features 68 artists celebrating the spirit of spring rebirth, colour and light.
