Beautiful Feet: Benin: Ghana: Divine Art Connection

One day I was strolling around the HUGE Artist's Alliance Gallery in Accra. The paintings,sculptures and mixed media pieces were done by a myriad of Ghanaian artists and many were beautiful but were WAY out of my price range. Frustrated by the outrageous prices ($3000 and up for my favorite pieces) I was saddened.

Then I really felt the Lord speak to me, asking "If you were to pick any picture that you like the most, which would it be.?" I thought: "Why bother? I'm sure it will be too much to stomach paying." But I did it anyway and spent a good amount of time admiring a painting of an Accra street scene with colors so crisp and bold in a style I'd never seen before: realistic but impressionist. Then I sighed and left.

A week or so later, through a series of events I connected with a British diplomat I met in December. She informed me that she is not hosting art classes in her home. I was so down!! I went and was floored by the talent, faith and humility of the artist as a teacher in addition to an artist.

Quick quiz: Which picture is by the master artist?

A close up: Borlabie and my paintings

Borlabie, Nicole's roommate, Nicole the Brit diplomat, moi, Rachel

It was such a Divine connection with the VERY SAME artist whose work was displayed in the Artist's Alliance Gallery. I told him how they're making a killing of of his work and how I would have gladly contributed to the killing but it would have been too much for me. He was all to familiar with the prices at the Gallery. He invited me to visit his studio and assured me that I could find something there for less. Wow.

So, it turns out, he's a believer and so generous. Whereas most of my time in Ghana I had to bargain down everything, I bargained him up on the painting I wanted, refusing such a steep price cut just because I was his student. Then he insisted on giving me another painting as a bonus.

Below are pics from the class and from Kate and I's visit to his studio towards the end of my visit.