PAINTING: THE STORYTELLER

"Dumsor" acrylic on canvas

In Ghana, thousands of people including tourists, troop in to the National Art Centre, in the Greater Accra Region, to admire the works of artists and to purchase their works. Various art and creative materials can be found there as well. These comprises, African mask, wood carvings and embroidered cloths with beads.

A walk through Osu, a suburb of Accra, will reveal a lot of shops trading in these fine arts. These arts, because of their beauty, comes with great value.

"Odd Numbers". acrylic on canvas,75cmx65cm

Painting, which forms part of the fine arts, is gradually gaining credence in the lives of people, thus, professionals, poets, artists themselves and individuals. The support for paintings includes such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay, leaf etc.  Exhibitions are held to display paintings in different forms and styles. Institutions are also offering painting courses as well to interested students.

“Chale Wote” is an annual festival celebrated during “Homowo”, the festival of the Gas. The Gas are the people found at the southern part of Ghana. During this “Chale Wote” festival, artists turn to display their prowess in painting especially, graffiti. Individuals’ present love to take pictures around these art works.

Paintings tell stories about our immediate environment and the larger world. It also serves as a source of livelihood for people, beautifies the environment and brings personal satisfaction. Some artists paint to express their innermost feeling and some also paint about troubling social issues.

"Bleating Goats", the improper use of  horns by Ghanaian drivers.
acrylic on canvas.

Enoch Kwabena Fordjuor is a young artist, who has won the hearts of many through his love for painting. In 2008, he received admission to pursue Commercial Arts (Painting) in the Takoradi Polytechnic, where he got his Higher National Diploma in Painting. He is currently a post-diploma student at the University of Education, Winneba, pursuing a Bachelor in Arts. He mostly tell stories through painting. He paints about social issues like traffic situation. He discovered his talent when he was in Takoradi Polytechnic, Ghana and has been painting since then. He now works as a part time Art teacher at Child Bilingual Institute and still works as an artist.      

By: Sandra Hyde