Figure Painting

Care Mistreat

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Where peace of mind is hard to find

And you hope that the world will be kind

When care turns to fear and you quiver at the very thought of him

You look in his eyes and all you see is lies

The lies buzz like flies on a huge pile of shit

Offended by the filth!

The stench is lethal you have to flee

When your heart becomes like a tennis ball

Bouncing from racket to racket

Till its smacked down hard on the ground

The victorious cheer at your expense

When you close your eyes in sleep

Tormented thoughts

They turn into nightmares

And still you have to summon courage to face another day

Care like wear and tear

Exhausted you combust

Like a grenade about to explode

With all the load you’ve had to bear

Finally, you have to abort

Less it kills what’s left of you

Your care turns to a glare as you look back at your life

Flush strife down the toilet drain

Thrive on the gain of pain

Sowing in new soils

Praying for rain

 

©Nina Fabunmi 2016

http://www.ninafabunmi.com

 

 

 

 

Surge Of Sadness

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So swiftly so suddenly, I feel a surge of sadness

But yet it seemed, a moment ago, that all I had was happiness

My mind has began to wonder again

That which I ended I want to begin

And that which I began, I want to end

For it seems as though, I am coming to my end

I am weary of wallowing in my own confusion

I am sorry for those who once had my submission

For it seems I am as a pendulum rocks

Back and forth and breaking the rocks

That which once held me steadfast in love

I mend and I break and I mend and I break

Shattering the hearts of those I once loved

Loving again until I break

And breaking again yet wanting for their love

And when I have it, I break again

I break again only to begin again

Hearts are shattered and I am battered

Then again comes the surge

The fruit of all that I urge

The surge that makes me begin to purge

Wallowing in my self inflicted unhappiness

In a surge of sadness

 

©Nina Fabunmi 2016

http://www.ninafabunmi.com

 

My Emergence

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Colourful Life by Nina fabunmi, Acrylic on Canvas, 5x2.5 ft, 2011

Sucking on a dry fruit and forgetting the taste of freshness

Then, before me, dangled a juicy red apple

Like the temptation of Adam by Eve

I took a bite and I felt alive again

My land is green

My soil, nourished and rich in manure

Yet you won’t plant in me

Perhaps your tools are defective

Like a farmer without a hoe

Or your seeds are like blank bullets that miss their mark

Your restless insatiable soul

Constantly looking for that which you already possess

But then came the ardent seeker

He scatted his seeds in my terrain

My garden has turned into a rich wild forest

Thick roots and broad green canopies

My waters run from rivers to oceans

Filled with passion, desire and plenty

Endless abundance of depths that go on for forever

I followed a trail that ended in a wall that I could not penetrate

I tried to break it, but it wouldn’t fall

I had to change directions

I hopped unto a cloud

Soft as candy floss

Floating into oblivion

Angels whisper kind words in my ears

My dreams are real

I heal and I feel

The sun came to greet me

And the moon comforted me by night

I have seen stars

It seems so peaceful over here

I think I will stay

This is my emergence

 

©Nina Fabunmi 2016

http://www.ninafabunmi.com

Our Perfect World

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Waiting For Him

I have kept you in my dreams

Trapped in a world that only exists in my false reality

A place where I can share you with no other

And transient things are not a bother

I spend the nights in your arms

And I awake in your embrace

I have a script for everyday

It all goes according to plan

I have you in my thoughts

When I close my eyes you smile at me

You lift me up and swirl me around

You whisper sweet nothings and make me merry

In a world where all is perfect

Where unicorns fly and homes are like floating clouds

We are like gods and goddesses

Eternal, peaceful and beautiful

My slumber is deep

I dare not wake

Less I be compelled to face my harsh reality

Where my tears flow like waterfalls

And my heart has been battered to a pulp

I spend the days waiting for night to come

So I can fall deep into sleep

To be with you once more

In a place where unicorns fly

Where we float on clouds like gods and goddesses

Our perfect world

 

Nina Fabunmi

http://www.ninafabunmi.com

He Watched Me Bleed

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He called me his queen

And adorned my head with a crown made out of thorns

Flesh punctured and blood tricking down my garments

He watched me bleed

He sat me on a pedestal placed on quick sand

And stood beside me, watching as I sunk

Deep and fast, soon I was gone

He knocked on my door and I opened

He asked for my heart and I gave it

He strung it up, hung from the ceiling

And made a punching bag out of it

He cleaned out my organs and placed in a blender

Made a smoothie and drank it with gusto

And he watched as I bled

He made me a slave to his loving

Trapped like a I’m in a dungeon

Weak, unable to break the bars that hold me

Bleeding…….

At night he lays his head to rest but he cannot sleep

For when he closes his eyes in slumber he watches me bleed

He will roam the earth as a king without his queen

He will eat and never be filled

He will drink but his thirst will never quench

He will look for me but never find me

He will see nothing but he will see me

And he will watch me bleed

 

Nina Fabunmi

http://www.ninafabunmi.com

“The Haven”…. Where I Find Peace

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“In Peace and Love” by Nina Fabunmi, oil on canvas 30×40″

You are all cordially invited to my solo art exhibition “The Haven” which will be on from Feb 16 – April 9th .

Opening reception will be on Friday Feb 19th 2016 at Atelier Gallery, Academy of Art University, 79 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA, 94105

My paintings capture the energetic splendor, peace and serenity of the Bay Area and the diversity of its people. I am an artist born and bred in Africa, now living and working in San Francisco. Each day I wake up in this beautiful city, I consider it a blessing, a privilege and an honor. San Francisco has become my haven thus when I see beauty and I consider it my artistic duty to capture it.
I have a Bachelors degree in Real Estate, and spent years working in Estate Management, Banking, Broadcasting and Telecommunications all in an effort to seek the fulfillment I always had. I finally retuned to my artistic skills and decided to step it up a notch by embarking on a Masters Degree in Fine Art- Painting at the Academy of Art University (AAU): a decision that positively changed my life. Each moment I spent in a classroom full of like minds, painting from a live model, a photo, plein air painting on the beautiful mountains and beaches of the Bay or just working in my studio, I consider my haven. I am now a graduate and a member of faculty at the AAU; it is an environment that gives me a sense of satisfaction. I am addicted to making art, I see things differently and each day I navigate this gorgeous city or come across an interesting person, I am always thinking of what a great painting the view in front of me will make.
My emotionally charged expressive technique is primarily derived by the use of a palette knife. I paint, paste, scratch, drip, sprinkle and splatter to build layers of texture in order to include details of an unspoken account. I sometimes include symbols and mark making as a tribute to my African Roots.

The Haven is a place, a moment, an emotion, a story, a history, a time in my art in my heart and when I am making art, I am in my safe haven.

http://www.ninafabunmi.com

 

 

Woman of Substance

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An outward expression of inner beauty, that her substance lies in that which is within her, far from what meets the eye. She is a woman of substance.

Available at West Coast leather . Please visit links for more information  http://www.westcoastleather.com

http://ninafabunmi.com/events

 

To Have And To Hold

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Woman is like a treasure unto man, a measure of success, an affirmation of fulfillment in life. In Africa, a woman is often used to measure a man’s status in society. A woman adorned with precious jewels, pampered and clothed in the finest fabric would be a confirmation that her man was well to do.

In Christianity, God advises that a man love his wife like he (God) loves his church and in turn you will have her submission.

She will devote herself to you,mind body and soul.

Nudity is seen as humility in Art history and the Renaissance period.

This piece titled “to have and to hold” shows a bare African beauty, presenting herself on a platform to the man who has won her heart. She is his, to have and to hold.

‘To Have and To Hold’ , oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, is currently in my solo exhibition , March 6 – April 25th at the Joyce Gordon Gallery,406 14th Street, downtown Oakland. For more information please visit http://www.joycegordongallery.com and http://ninafabunmi.com

The Middle Passage

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Need I say more, this piece speaks for itself. After many nights of watching Django unchained, I couldn’t get the images of the enslaved out of my head. It haunted me, followed me everywhere I went and finally, I spilled it out on a 5ft x 40 inches canvas and after I painted it, I was afraid of what I had created. I truly began to understand the fact that artists are controlled by forces greater than themselves. I am a medium for stories which need to me told. This is the migration story, it speaks of the bravery, torture an resilience of those who had to go through the middle passage. http://faso.com/boldbrush/painting/83594 http://www.ninafabunmi.com

Timid Glory

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Draped in ‘Adire’ fabric which originated from Nigeria, a place that she comes from but has never been to

Adorned in West African Beads, hair braided in yarn extensions

She reaches out to a culture that she has never experienced

She knows the roots that she has been uprooted from but she is timid for her lack of undrestanding

She has a Calabar name which means glory

She finds a way to be a part of it, though she may be an African in Diaspora

“Timid Glory” 24 x 36 inches, will be featured in my solo show titled ,”Rebirth” taking place at the Joyce Gordon Gallery , 406 14th street, downtown Oakland between Broadway and Telegraph, from March 6 – April 25th. Opening reception is on March 6, 6-9pm.
For more information please visit http://ninafabunmi.com and http://www.joycegordongallery.com