My Beauty Best Teacher

In Sahara Reporters Aliyu Modibbo Umar writes about the present day Nigerian Emperors who run synthetic states:

Over the last ten years of our democratic life in Nigeria, state governors have deteriorated to become imperial lords where their actions and deeds are unquestionable by the electorate through the legislators of the state. A true legislative arm is to provide restraints to personal impulsiveness but this has been absent in most states of the federation. My argument does not foreclose the fact that there are no islands of integrity exhibited by some governors and legislators. There are, but a majority of these governors fit into the imperial template and this is worrisome.

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For further context read 'Hints of a new chapter'

At last count Nigeria was listed as having 36 states within its Federal Structure. Unsurprisingly the great bulk of them(33 we now hear) are fiscally unable to sustain themselves.So there we have it, "resource curse" Nigeria incubates unsustainable states (every now and then) that bring new meaning to the phrase Intra-Country clientelism. 'State Governors' have no other role but to sink their snouts in a trough and thieve the handouts, while they apply no effort whatsoever to generating state revenues or creating wealth. If there is a better example of multi-layered governmental,knavery ,welfarism and indolence we are keen to know where?
What is the point of having administrative structures that have no financial viability? The 'Leaders ' of these synthetic constructs are actually administering imaginary territories...The emperors truly have no clothes!
I would bet that the 3 sustainable states include Lagos and Kano. What do you think?

Where can I Get Cheap Art Materials for Oils?

Inexpensive Oil Painting Rachel Shirley

Thankfully, times have changed since the days of the old masters and their exacting processes, and there have been many innovations, not least in how the oil paints have been manufactured. Nowadays artist oil paints, containing organic pigments, have a cheaper alternative in the form of student quality oils, which contain synthetic substitutes. Numerous oil pigments are not necessary. In fact, the only oil colours I use for all my painting are as follows:

• A large tube of titanium white.
• Cadmium yellow (pale).
• Lemon yellow.
• Ultramarine blue.
• Pthalo blue.
• Permanent rose.
• Cadmium red.
• Burnt sienna.
• Burnt umber.
• Viridian green: A much-maligned colour for its strength, but when mixed with other colours, provides beautiful greens.

Avoid purchasing preselected sets of oil tubes, as they often contain unnecessary colours, such as numerous earth colours or secondary colours. A one-off purchase of the aforementioned oil tubes will spread over dozens of medium-sized oil paintings, and will last years.

Beginner’s Set of Oil Brushes

Art brushes for oils are essentially divided into two types: stiff brushes, most often hog hair for rough impasto, and soft brushes, most often sables, for blending and detail. The artist may save money on art brushes by purchasing the stiff brushes from DIY stores. But it is worth investing money in good quality sables that last. Kolinsky is a well-established brand, but brushes containing a blend of synthetic and sable provide a cheaper alternative. Two or three different sizes of each will suffice the artist for many art techniques. The following starter kit of art brushes will not break the purse strings.

Sable brushes Sizes 3 and 6 rounds. (Rounds are brushes that converge to a point for fine lines).
Hog hair brushes sizes 6, 9 and 12 flat. (Flat brushes are brushes with a flat, blunt end for wide brushstrokes).

Where Can I Get Cheap Art Boards?

The purchase of canvases and art boards can make the cost of oil painting skyrocket, but preparing your own is simple and will save lots of money. Simply purchase a tin of acrylic polymer primer (sometimes labelled “gesso primer”), which is essentially a white acrylic, water-soluble paint that dries water resistant. Applying a coat or two of acrylic primer onto thick paper or card will provide a stable surface for oil sketches.

Textured paper, such as “not” watercolour paper will provide interesting effects for painting. MDF or hardboard can be used for larger oil paintings. But if stretched canvases are preferred, stationers will often stock them at the fraction of the art shop’s price.

What Art Mediums do I Need for Oil Painting?

The artist can get away with using only linseed oil and artist thinners. Linseed oil is essentially for thinning oil paint for glazes or detail. Artist’s solvents such as Sandador or Turpenoid are used for cleaning the brushes or applying washes. (Never use household or industrial solvents for oil painting as this will kill the art brushes and emit powerful odours). Used artists solvents can be made to last longer by allowing the paint residue to settle at the bottom of the jar and siphoning the clean solution from the top into a clean jar.


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Any non-porous material can be used as an artist’s palette. A china plate, a piece of plastic or veneered wood would be ideal. I stretch a piece of cling film over a sturdy surface via bulldog clips. When I am finished, the used cling film can easily be disposed of.

• Advice on buying oil paints
• Advice on buying art brushes
• Types of gessoes for oil painting
• Preparing art boards
• Advice on buying art mediums
• Advice on buying artist easels
• Advice on buying pochade boxes
• Art materials shop

Marion Mühlberger of Deutsch Bank Research wrote(pdf) in June 2007 about the lack of USD-denominated investment opportunities within Nigeria:

The redemption of the Brady bond by Nigeria last November has considerably reduced USD-denominated investment opportunities. As investment options in USD and EUR are scarce, institutional investors go for synthetic bonds, so-called credit linked notes. Another option is corporate bonds, e.g. USD-denominated bonds issued by large Nigerian financial institutions. However, these entail additional company-specific risks and frequently require a very high minimum investment. The stock market also offers very few opportunities for private investors as emerging markets share certificates in the past did not cover Nigeria at all due to a lack of liquidity in the market; at present, this is the case to only a small degree. But the Nigerian capital markets are making quick progress so over the next few years we will see improving investment opportunities in the country

The artist assigned to paint a portrait of someone with brown hair may reach for any brown pigment to represent the follicles in the hope that it will do, the result being the hair looks flat, dull and more like wool than fine strands. How can the artist paint brown hair realistically?

How to Paint Brown Hair on Portraits

Painting Brown Hair Rachel Shirley

The artist may reflect upon what went wrong when painting hair in order to make changes to how the oil painting was completed. Any of the following painting practices could be at fault:

• Making blanket assumptions about the colour of brown hair, using any tube of oil paint labelled “brown” to represent anything from brunette to auburn.
• Illustrating every strand of the hair in a linear fashion with a fine sable, resulting in a synthetic appearance that resembles a wig rather than real hair.
• Allowing harsh dividing lines to remain between tonal areas, making the hair appear solid or plastic rather than divisible strands.
• Mixing the brown colour with white to represent highlights, or black to darken it, resulting in dirty grey colours.
• Treating the hair area as a separate entity to the rest of the face, by omitting to illustrate how the hair casts shadows over the brow and cheeks, resulting in a cut out appearance to the brown hair.

Tips on Painting Brunette

The observant artist will notice that brown hair is a mere blanket label for a diversity earthen colours, including brunette, ochre, auburn, coffee, toffee, bronze tan, chocolate and russet that require different colour mixes to achieve. With this in mind, the following remedies may help the artist paint brown hair realistically.

• Avoid using generic brown paint to represent the whole head of hair. The brown colour will vary between individuals and even between strands.
• The key to suggesting the soft texture of hair is through blending. Look out for harsh divisions in tonal areas that could draw the eye. Use a soft sable for achieving smooth gradations.
• Highlights are not merely white, but other colours. Some brunettes exhibit blue highlights, others show pinks, violets and even red.
• Avoid using black to darken brown hair. Warm brown hair can be darkened with a little pthalo blue and burnt umber; cool brown hair can be darkened with a little ultramarine and permanent rose.
• There is no need to draw every strand of the hair. It is better to blend the colours of hair and to suggest detail with a fine sable on selected areas of the hair, such as highlights and stray strands.

Pay special attention to the outline of the hair, particularly strands that fall over the face or catch the light.

Illustrating local shadows over the face can be effective at creating an almost photographic representation of hair and making it look as though it belongs to the subject.

Backlit hair will create bright russet colours, pinks, golds and bronzes, with tones similar to bright translucent autumn leaves. Take advantage of these opportunities to create a striking portrait.

Colour Mixes for Shades of Brown Hair

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Lots of browns and earth colours are not needed for every shade of brown. I use burnt sienna, burnt umber, ultramarine, pthalo blue, permanent rose, cadmium red and titanium white for all my brown hair paintings.

The portrait artist may find the following pigment mixtures helpful when trying to capture a particular colour mix for brown hair. The pigments are suggestion only, as in real life, more colours will be seen in highlights, reflections and darks. Varying amounts of white will be required in each case to express paler tones.

Ash brown hair: burnt umber, a little pthalo blue with white.
Auburn hair: burnt sienna, permanent rose and ultramarine.
Russet hair: burnt umber, cadmium red and a little ultramarine.
Toffee hair: burnt umber, cadmium red and a little ultramarine.
Dark coffee hair: burnt umber, pthalo blue and permanent rose.
Almost black brown hair: burnt umber, pthalo blue and a little permanent rose.

Oil Painting Techniques for Painting Hair

Glazing and dry brushing are great for suggesting realistic hair. Such painting techniques are explored on my articles via the links below and also via the links on this site navigation.

• Glazing technique for oil painting
• How to paint children from a photo
• Flesh tones in portraits

Via Coder at a lecture titled “Who Will Reform Politics in Nigeria” Charles Soludo:

...called for the pruning of Nigeria to six regions with Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja as special centres. He said 774 local governments, were merely conduits for profligacy and waste, as well as the adoption of a unicameral legislature that would reduce the number of law- makers from 459-150.

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Well said! We have previously discussed Nigeria's synthetic states and largely pirate governors. Its unlikely that Nigeria's political turkeys will vote for this kind of thanksgiving.

Matt or Gloss Varnish? Rachel Shirley

Shiny and Matt Oil Paint

Oil by its nature is shiny. Pale colours, particularly titanium white are often blended with sunflower oil, as it is non-yellowing. Most other colours are blended with linseed oil. The high finish of oil paint gives a lustrous and rich finish to oil paint, particularly suited to detailed work and traditional oil painting. When wet the oil painting is particularly shiny. But the artist may notice some oil pigments dry more matt than others, resulting in a patchy appearance.

Although in some cases, this may be due to the oil paint sinking into an absorbent painting support, this is more often caused by the individual nature of the pigments and how they are blended with the oil. However, once coated with varnish, the oil painting will have equal gloss.

How to Get a Matt Oil Painting

The artist may obtain a matt finish to an oil painting in three ways:

• Adding an alkyd medium such as Liquin to the oil paint.
• Using alkyds in place of oils.
• Using a matt varnish once the painting is dry.

Using an alkyd based medium such as Liquin alters the properties of the oil paint by accelerating the drying time of the paint and giving a matt finish once dry. The alkyd medium should be added to the oil paint by a ratio of about one part to four before applying it to the painting.

Using Alkyds Instead of Oils

The artist may also consider using alkyd paints instead of oil which offer the same properties as traditional oils, but with a quick drying non-lustrous finish. A misnomer, alkyd oils, as they are sometime known, is not really a type of oil paint at all, as the vehicle is a special alkyd resin. It must be borne in mind, that a matt varnish should be applied to an alkyd painting to retain the matt look.

Matt Varnish for Oils

The third option, using a matt varnish for oil painting is the most common option.

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• Types of oil painting mediums
• Types of oil painting varnishes
• Alkyd paints and Liquin
• Wet-into-wet demonstration with oil mediums
• Oil painting varnishes
• Oil painting mediums