Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Ketuojor Ikediuba.
Anthony, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I didn’t really get into artfully until I moved to Los Angeles around four years ago in 2015. God really directed my steps to start getting back into art again. It felt like he physically moved me from Houston, Tx to LA for that exact purpose. As a kid, I would draw and sketch, but I stopped around middle school and never picked it back up until I was alone one winter break at Houston Baptist University. I started to draw again and enjoy the process, but I was still awful. It wasn’t until I moved to LA in 2015 that I started to actively pursue a career in art. I went to school for graphic design and got my associates degree, and I went to Otis College of Art and Design for a year. I spent these past four years coming up from around ground zero.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I am a multidisciplinary artist. I paint using oil, acrylic, and digital painting in photoshop. I am also a 2d animator, and I do a bit of motion graphics and graphic design. I have mainly been working in the music industry designing and helping directing album rollouts. My personal work consists of portraiture, illustrations based on the music I listen to, and illustrations based on African themes.
Recently I have been working on a portrait book where I paint my friends and people that inspire me. I wanted to create a space where I can uplift and show love to the people I know in my own special way. Capturing who the people are within the portrait is an important part of my process. The book will also have bios next to each portrait, describing who that person is and what they do. Capturing who the people are within the portrait is an important part of my process. Music has been a big part of the process of the book as well. I like to find the songs I feel that fit the person and the whole vibe of the painting and put it in a time-lapse video of the painting. Me being from Nigeria gives me a bit of different cultural background, and I like to bring that into my work when I design African characters.
I believe the main message I want people to get is to love the people in their lives and not just behind closed doors. The second thing would be just to stay true to you and to identify the things that do make you who you are and really develop those areas of yourself. Learn your love language.
Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
I think the biggest challenge facing artists today is just finding your voice, staying true to who you are regardless if people are looking at your work or not, and not realizing that its a journey. With the insanity of social media, it can get hard with getting people actually to see your work at first. We want things to happen now now now and end up missing the opportunities to enjoy the process and the present.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
People can see my work on my Instagram: ketutheartist and my website: ketutheartist.work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ketutheartist.work
- Email: ketutheartist@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ketutheartist
Image Credit:
Photo of me: instagram @jawsh.g
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