Living! Observing and Experiencing! The Secret Ingredient to Ifyarts: The Man Letting The Pencil Do The Talking

Living! Observing and Experiencing! This is the secret ingredient to Ifyarts. Ifure Usen (Ifyarts) is the man letting the pencil do the talking. His personal style and mode of expression is pencil art where he expresses his opinions freely, telling multiple stories and connecting with different audiences. In conversation with FashionEVO, Ifure Usen (Ifyarts) had these to say:

1. In your own words, what is visual arts?

For me, visual art is a way of communicating without necessarily having to use words. It is taking an idea, an emotion, a story, a memory or even something you observe and translating it into something people can see and connect with. I think that’s what makes visual art so powerful. Two people can look at the same artwork and feel completely different things, because everyone brings their own experiences to what they see. So, to me, visual art is not just about making something beautiful. It is about expression, storytelling and creating a connection between the artist and the person looking at the work.

 

2. Walk us through your journey as a visual artist and particularly; why pencil art?

My journey as an artist has been a gradual one. I didn’t necessarily start out with the idea that I was going to become a professional artist. I started drawing because I enjoyed it, just as I usually say “I play with pencils” and over time I became more intentional about improving my skills and understanding what I could actually do with a pencil.

The more I drew, the more I realized that I could communicate a lot through something as simple as charcoal and graphite on paper. That really fascinated me. Pencils are such a basic medium, but with enough patience, you can create depth, texture, light, emotion and an incredible amount of detail. I think that is one of the reasons I stayed with it. There is something about starting with a blank sheet of paper and gradually building an image from nothing. It takes time, and sometimes a single piece can take me weeks, but I enjoy that process.

Over time, pencil stopped being just the medium I used to draw. It became part of my identity as an artist. I’ve experimented with other forms of art, including scribble art and digital work, but pencil remains the medium that people most strongly associate with me.

3. When you are not creating, what does a typical day in your life look like?

Honestly, not every day is a drawing day. Sometimes I’m doing everything around the art rather than actually making the art. I might be responding to clients, working on commissions, handling social media, researching ideas, planning content or working on community projects. I’m also constantly learning, especially because I don’t think being an artist means you stop developing once you can draw well. And then there are the completely normal things. I watch football, cook, spend time online, talk to friends, listen to music, discover new artists and just live life. I think that’s important because life itself is one of the things that feeds creativity.

Sometimes the best ideas don’t come when you’re sitting in front of a drawing board trying to force yourself to create. They come when you’re simply living, observing and experiencing things.

 

4. Is there a difference between Ifure Usen and Ifyarts? If yes, what is the difference? If no, why do you think so?

No, there isn’t really a difference. Ifure is the person, and Ifyarts is the name through which I express myself creatively. Just as Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” In the same way, Ifure and Ifyarts are one.

 

5. Your work as a visual artist is very unique and distinctive. As a pencil artist, what led to you choosing this particular visual identity to represent your work?

I think the funny thing is that I didn’t sit down one day and say, “This is going to be my visual identity.” It developed naturally. I was drawn to pencil because of how much you can achieve with it. You have essentially this very simple tool and a piece of paper, but you can create something that looks incredibly complex.

I also love the discipline that comes with it. Pencils require patience. You have to pay attention to small details, understand light and shadow, and be willing to spend hours working on something that someone else might only look at for a few seconds. And I think that contrast became important to me: something so simple producing something so detailed.

Eventually, people started recognizing my work because of that. They would see a piece and know it was mine before even seeing my name. That’s something I really value because I believe an artist should eventually be able to develop a visual language of their own. For me, pencil isn’t just a medium anymore. It’s a language I use to tell stories.

 

6. Where do you draw inspiration from to keep creating the exceptional pieces you draw?

Inspiration comes from a lot of places for me. Obviously, other artists can inspire me, but I don’t think inspiration is limited to looking at art. People inspire me. Conversations inspire me. African culture and history inspire me. Things I see on social media can spark an idea. Sometimes it’s a photograph, a face, an expression or even a particular moment that makes me think, “I want to interpret this.”

I’m also inspired by the desire to see how far I can push myself. Sometimes I come across an idea and think, “Can I actually draw this?” And that challenge becomes the reason I create the piece. I think life itself is probably my biggest source of inspiration. The more you observe people and the world around you, the more stories you realize are everywhere.

 

7. Where do you see art and creativity in Africa going in the next 5 to 10 years?

I think African creativity is going to become even more global, but what excites me most is that I don’t think we will have to lose our identity to achieve that. We’re already seeing African artists, musicians, designers, filmmakers and other creatives reaching audiences all over the world. Technology has made it possible for someone sitting in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya or anywhere else on the continent to build an audience internationally.

I also think digital art, AI, Web3 and other emerging technologies are going to create new opportunities for creatives. But I don’t think technology will replace the importance of culture and human creativity. If anything, it gives us more tools to tell our stories. I would love to see a future where African artists are not only recognized because they are “African artists,” but because they are simply recognized as some of the best artists in the world. And I think the next five to ten years can be a major period for that.

8. If you were an onlooker or innocent bystander, what emotion would you want people to feel when they come across your art and what do you want your work to be known for in the near future?

I would want people to feel something that makes them stop. It could be wonder, curiosity, nostalgia, connection or even just that feeling of, “Wait, how was this made?”

I don’t necessarily want every person to have the same emotional reaction to my work. I’d rather give them something they can interpret for themselves. If my artwork makes someone pause, look closer and think about what they’re seeing, then I feel like I’ve achieved something.

In the near future, I want my work to be known for mastery, storytelling and detail. I want people to associate Ifyarts with the idea that pencil can do far more than they imagined. Ultimately, I want to build a body of work that outlives me. Something where, years from now, people can look at a piece and still feel something from it and understand that this was an artist who used a very simple tool to tell very meaningful stories. That’s probably the biggest thing for me: Let the pencil do the talking.

 

For every creative, expressing themselves freely and holistically is what gives them joy and Ifyarts is not exempt. The artistic style and approach he uses to his art is what makes him a unique visual artist and we look forward to the next chapter of his artistry within the creative industry.

To step into the captivating world of Ifyarts, go to linktr.ee/Ifyarts