Welbeck Welbie Mensah is an illustrator, writer, photographer and sometimes animator from Ghana who also doubles as a social commentator with a wicked sense of humour. Welbie’s art is playful and interactive with it often interacting with mundane real-life objects, scenarios and environments. If his art could speak – which it technically does through his short animated skits – the fourth wall would be broken beyond repair.
One of my main art forms involves making doodles to interact with real-life photos I take of everyday objects and places, with a satisfying dash of humour. I strive to illustrate from a unique perspective, establishing a relatable interaction and narrative in all aspects of my artworks. The illustrations vary in form, from minimalist to baroque.
Welbie via Face2Face Africa
In a marketing campaign by KFC Ghana (KFC Streetwise), Welbie shares that, “my biggest fear is artists block, but the streets dey for me so me too I dey streets.” In other words, his fear of artist’s block pushes him to draw inspiration from everything around him. A quick look at Welbie’s art and it’s not difficult to see this in play.
Welbie wrote a comic book, Sasraku: The Secret Within which was published in 2020. Sasraku: The Secret Within is a children’s comic book, for WABiCC under the USAID, that highlights dangers of deforestation and illegal mining on the environment. The book can be read here.
RELATED: Welbeck’s Cheatcodes to Monetizing Art
Welbie’s powers of observation, social media savvy, meme generation, witty writing and wizardry come together to produce a unique portfolio that’s honest, beautiful and has you childishly chuckling.
Check out Welbie’s whimsical art below.
Enjoy.
Check out some rad videos of Welbie’s art and creative process below.
See more of Welbie’s art on Twitter, his website, Instagram and Facebook.
Bahari Blue is Squid Mag’s Kadi Yao Tay and Kofi Sydney Asare’s and illustrator Bolaji “Art Nerd X” Olaloye’s scrapbook of favourite African (including the diaspora sometimes) artists they love, are inspired by and believe the whole world needs to know about.
So far we’ve featured Alfred Achiampong, Venus Bambisa, Malcolm Wopé, Simangaliso Sibaya, Kofi Ofosu, Ifesinachi Orjiekwe, Kudzai Ngundu, Salim Busuru, Rodney Tawanda Ngundu, Juni Ba, Poka Arts, Natasha Nayo, Hanson Akattti, Bertil Svanekiaer, Collyde Prime, Nils Britwum, Hélio Januário, Mika Hirwa, Mogau Kekana and Data Pepple. See all the Bahari Blue features here.
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