We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cletus Oche a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cletus , thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Most of the moments of realization I get that my responsibility and work labels me as an artist is one of happiness and freedom. But on the other side of the coin being an independent creator has its periods of void, times I wanted to get onto something more “secure”, a job that comes with regular pay. You see, sometime in 2022 when my work had little to no audience, the struggle was real both financially and otherwise. At that point, to sit down and draw out ideas was difficult also because of the current outcomes and situation. Along the way, by God’s grace, I was able to forget the pain and stop these fearful projections, some may call it irresponsible and delusional but after realizing that whatever work one does there’s always a risk this was sort of an encouragement.
Finally, armed with this truth, choosing to have a second stream of income did not come from a fear, but simply a business decision.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My journey into the art universe has been one of curiosity and passion. As long as I can remember I have been drawn to creative side of things and I am passionate about creating ideas on paper.
I got into the creative industry professionally in 2014, during my university days. Being an artist without a formal education in the field, along with my zeal to create I began using my skills to make ends meet.

In addition, apart from bringing in an atmosphere of beauty and aesthetics, my works always has a story or two embedded into it. I help people get into that space within themselves which sometimes eludes them; spaces of personal growth and truth.
Through the years, I’ve come to see that my proudest moments were the times people had personal connections to my creations and I could see it in their eyes that these connections were real. Those were the times I could say my homework was done.
I love deep thoughts and philosophy and I try as much as I can to be truthful in my creative process. It’s my hope that much people can be freed in mind and spirit through my work.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In the earlier days of growing my craft, the drive to have a particular style of art was so engulfing that I practiced this all the time. After a while, I realized that my creative process no longer feed the stories I wanted to tell but my techniques and styles. Don’t get me wrong, building technique is essential, but when that becomes the end goal of the process then it’s a problem.
I finally concluded that just as a person learns a language from birth and automatically gains an accent, the same goes with art style.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the resonance that happens between people and the works. That connection is something I don’t take for granted.
Secondly, with every art I create, a part of my soul is in it. So I like to think in a way I will continue to live forever even after I am gone.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: cletus_oche
• Facebook: Cletus Oche
• Twitter: CletusOcheArt