Kareem Waris Olamilekan is a Nigerian born artist with the magical hands when it comes to hyperrealism art. This art genius has also gained the title of the youngest hyper – realism artist in the whole of Africa.
The young artist began art at the tender age of 6 with his friends in school. Together, they drew comic figures, newspaper and textbook illustrations. He did this up to 8 years old and was admitted to the Academy of Arts in Lagos. At the academy, he was tutored and trained by the founders.
Under their tutelage, Kareem Waris Olamilekan built his art abilities in various areas such as; hyper-realism pencil art, expression painting, drawing and mosaic art as well. He also acknowledged the great Italian artist and poet, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and fellow Nigerian artist, Stanley Egbengwu as his inspirational figures.
In an interview with the guardian.ng, Kareem Waris Olamilekan admitted that balancing school and his passion hasn’t been a smooth thing to do. But, he hopes to press on despite the challenges with the strong support of his family as well.
RISE TO STARDOM
In July 2018, Kareem made a major leap in his art pursuit. At the age of 11 years, he drew the portrait of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, in just 2 HOURS!!! This iconic moment took place during the President’s visit to the Fela Kuti’s New African Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria.
The French President was super amazed at the mind-blowing skills of the young artist and acknowledged his hard work. He also appreciated Kareem’s artwork in a tweet post showing a short video of the artist at work. in the caption, the President said, “Very touched, Congrats to this young boy”.
Very touched, congratulations to this young boy! pic.twitter.com/hQd3ylxGnV
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 3, 2018
Following this, Kareem Waris Olamilekan gained worldwide recognition from various social media platforms for his special talent and hardwork.
He has also gained an appreciable followership status of more than 142,000 followers on Instagram.
Recently in June 2019, Kareem received the Excellence Award at the 2019 Children Summit which took place in Abuja, Nigeria.
He is also an ambassador of Ecobank Nigeria.
CONCLUSION
Kareem Waris Olamilekan is a bundle of talents and a product of hardwork and tenacity even at a young age. His trailblazer status will surely pave way for other young talented kids to rise up to the occasion.
Check out some of his incredible artworks.
