Sunday, July 1, 2012

"The Girl From Benin"


More of my artwork

This painting is the first of 20 paintings I hope to finish this year. A good friend of mine is a missionary in Nigeria and she shared her amazing photos and stories with me every month! I asked if I could work off her photos and start a series of portraits of people from Nigeria and she gracefully gave her approval. Lisa has been in Nigeria for a long time and has some very good stories and experiences. To start this little girl is from Benin, Nigeria and Lisa explained to me….”This little girl is dressed in the true native wear from the tribe of Yoruba. This is a very traditional outfit she is wearing with what they call a “Gaylay”, which is wrapped around her head with matching top and matching wrapper for a skirt. To these Nigerians, the women must always look fabulous! As you can see in the picture, even the little children will have matching earrings, necklace, and  bracelets…..and matching handbag and shoes! Some wear an additional piece of blue fabric wrapped around their bum brought forward. Very pretty!”
I am so grateful to Lisa for allowing me to work with her photos she took. I hope to save money and travel to Nigeria and meet some of these amazing people!

2 comments:

  1. LOvely blog, Sylvia. Good luck with your projects. Black people are the best to paint. Your paintings after pics from Nigeria are wonderful.

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    1. Thank you! I appreciate your feedback....so sorry to take sooo long to respond. I have sooo many sites to maintain!

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