BON

Today we met with the artist and retired professor, BON (his initials, which is how he signs his artwork and how he's known). He had told me he'd meet me at the University (KNUST) and we'd go from there. I thought maybe we'd talk for a bit there, since it's about halfway between where we are staying and where he lives. Instead, he picked us up and took us to his home. We met his wife, Jane, and twin 30-year-old children, Afua and Kofi. He showed us his studio and his many varied artworks. BON works in many different styles and, when asked why, he replies that he "doesn't eat rice everyday...why should I paint in the same style all throughout?" However, almost all of his works have a single central figure, surrounded by either impressions of other figures or traditional symbols. He loves pastels and oil paints, but he works mostly in acrylic now because it's what's popular here. You can see a few examples of his varied styles below...you wouldn't even know its the same artist!

What we thought would be a short talk with an artist, actually turned into a full afternoon at his home. He and his family were so welcoming and excited to have us as guests. We sat and talked with them for nearly 3 hours! We even got to try Jane's tiger nut mold (tasted like a nutty custard, but slightly different flavor than any nuts we could think of). It was delicious! We really enjoyed the time at their home and look forward to keeping in touch with them! Who knows...perhaps one of them will make it to Chicago one day so we can return the favor!