Mrs. Funmi Opanubi-Alasholoye, never studied arts in any of the schools she attended in her formative or later years, but her love for arts is not only encouraging, but impressive and splendid..
Although, Alasholoye, is General Manager of Ereke Paints, Ojodu-Abiodun, Ogun State, but her gallery of art works including inspiritional words speak volume of her love for creative things.
She works with recycle items, like empty cartons, sprinkle cartons to create landscape, images, pictures and others which made up her gallery with inspiritional words attesting to her unique love for creative thimgs.
According to her, she started showing arts traits as a growing up child through her love for colour mixing which reflected in her modes of dressing.
This necessitated her mother nick-named her "Madam To Match" and urged her siblings to emulate her choice of colours in the way she dressed.
Aside using inspiritional words from famous and anonymous people to cheer up her audience, she also works with Ankara, Adire and others which she said were admired by people which encouraged her to do more.
The artist had her first exhibition in 2013 after what she described as an inspiration from Pastor Sam Conference on leadership in 2011.
According to her, speakers, upon speakers spoke about enterpreneurship "and thereafter, I was inspired by an artiste who displayed an art canvassed works which I have aways been interested".
"I approached him and offered to learn the tricks and gladly enough for me, he agreed and after about three months, I brushed up my skills in art.
It was after this tutelage that the CEO of Ereke Paints encouraged me to organize an exhibition saying that I have the potential. The exhibition was themed: From United Kingdom to DayStar".
The succes of the first exhibition led her to organising the second one last August, which was titled: "My Life Experience: Its Inspiration and Its Beauty" which talks about not only paintings and pictures, but about inspiritional quotations.
"We are in a country where terrible things happen and I believe for anyone to live a posotive one, such a person mut have a positive mind set. If you live a negative life, it is because you have a negative mind set".
"But when you read motivational words, it encourages and motivates you. Until recently, I used to have phobia for driving in Nigeria because I have lived so long in the United Kingdom where everyone goes by the rules and laws.
"Coming to Nigeria, I notice that Okada and Danfo drivers usually compete for space on the road and had it in mind that I would never drive in Nigeria but my encounter with a quote on fear which I read overtimes later conquered the fear, nkw I can proudly say that I am a driver not only in Lagos, but in Nigeria because If you can drive in Lagos, with all her madness, you can drive anywhere in Nigeria".
"As a woman, I know that many women face marriage challenges, but after they must have read positive inspiriational quotations on marriage, they beginning not to see their challages as insurmountable".
She counselled women not to see their marriage challenges as something that has no end.
"Life is about patience, we need to be patient with ourselves as well as the situation that we find ourselves, bearing in mind that challenges are made to be surmounted".
Asked how she combined her primary duties as General Manager with her new found love, Alasholoye said: "I don' t allow art to conflict with my responsibilities as a GM.
"It is only when I sparetime that I go into art works. I put Ereke Paints first, because I started with Ereke and I will not allow anything to hinder the running and progress of the company".
Speaking on challenges facing Manufacturing industries, the Ereke GM said: "there are so many of them, but I think too much imported products around is detrimental to made-in-Nigeria products. The so called imported products are sold at ridiculous prices even though they are of low quality".
She also identified the exchange rate inmthe country as another major problem hindering the progress of manufacturing industries in the country.
"Aside from this, importation of raw materials as, well as electricity supply which is not always regular hinders the growth of small scale industries, forcing many to rely on generators to produce".
"Without being greedy, I want to canvass ban on products that are manufactured and are readily available in the country. This should not be restricted to paints alone, but other sectors of the econcmy.
The Ereke Paints Manager expressed the opinion that that it was by so doing that small scale industries could be assisted and in turn aid employment.