#my trendsetter

On the last week of November 2015, I lost someone indescribably special & influential to me…

My beloved big brother, Kingsley, Abiola, Oginni was the person behind my artistic gifts… He trained & nurtured me from as early as 11yrs old through to my teenage years. In the early 90’s he would teach me how to draw, at first copying characters out of video game magazines (‘Mean Machine’ games mag), then later more advanced principals using 'The Marvel Way to Draw Comics’ book… He would also set up a regular 'drawing club’ for me & my younger brother in our bedroom where he’d provide us with paper, pencils, colours & other resources. He’d grade me & my brother out of 10, & I was always proud to get top marks from him.

Since his transition, I’ve been unable to work on any of my own personal projects. I didn’t know what it was before, only that it was directly linked to him. I had been working on several illustrations prior to what happened, but since then I hadn’t been able to bring myself to continue… I took the last few weeks to try to analyse what was going on & how I needed to deal with it. Finally it came to me… Because my brother Kingsley was so paramount to the development & cultivation of my gifts, consciously & unconsciously my art/ artistic journey & career has always been connected to him. I can only describe it as him having guided me throughout my entire growth as an artist, which had been a very intimate thing… As a result of his passing, I hadn’t anticipated the reality of continuing this journey without him & the emotions it would bring up.

I’ve come to the acceptance now that he would want me to stay on the path (without his physical presence) & keep pressing on. So as an act of accepting his transition, I felt very strongly that before I could do anything else, I had to first honor him for all he was/ is (still) to me with this illustration.

It’s been VERY emotional working on it as it brought to memory so much I love & recall about him; but at the same time I felt a peace within me that seemed to grow with each line I drew. Finally it’s now completed, & I feel ready to move forward knowing I have paid this homage to him & have his blessing.

I titled this illustration, 'The Creator’.

May his Spirit rest in blissful Peace

❤You Biola…
Your bro, Folabi

-M-