“NEVER SAY NEVER”
I, Queen Enih, was born in Funam Bome in a small village in the North West Region of Cameroon, in Africa. As the youngest in the family of seven, everyone expected much from me. A quality education, a high standard job, a wealthy husband a big family.
In my family, being an artist was not esteemed as a reliable job,so even though I knew I had much interest for art ,I had never given myself the possibility to explore my creativity. When I was young I composed pictures in school for others, as a way to generate some income for myself but never gave it a further thought, though it was exceedingly clear; I had a passion for art and always collected art. I only felt at home whenever art was present.
Once graduated, I started working as a financial auditor for the Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union league. Even though I enjoyed my job, it slowly became noticable to me that something was missing from my life. But what it was, I could not pinpoint.
In 2008, while living in the Netherlands, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Receiving such momentous and consequential news made me feel like that was the end of my life. It transported me down into darkness, and I didn’t know what could bring me out. Suddenly, In my sleep, I would hear someone singing to me. The songs brought me solace , so after a while, I started writing down those songs and singing them to myself. It was nourishing and therapeutic for me. I felt like I had been given a second chance in life. I decided to make use of it and only go after the things I loved, some of which included travelling, Photography and Digital Art. I got hooked on creating digital art using photographs I took. Before I knew it my house was filled with Digital Paintings and Prints. Every day I deleted old ones and made new ones.
One day, I was introduced to Instagram by my daughter to enable me share my beautiful pictures with others because she felt I was extremely talented in digital art and inspired me to continue Pursuing it. She also advised me to try hand painting, but I told her I couldn’t and would never try, as I didn’t feel confident enough in my abilities at that time. As time passed I kept getting dreams about becoming a well known Painter. I guess my subconscious mind was telling me something.
Life went on, but one indispensible day, while doing shopping I found myself standing by the painting equipment. I bought a few painting materials but just kept them lying around in the house, undecided about what to do with them. Once again the dreams returned. For three consecutive nights, I dreamt of painting a beautiful big painting. The fourth night after my dream, I woke up and started to paint, stroke for stroke not comprehending my actions, but feeling exhilarated. Once I was done with the painting, I merely stood staring at it, I couldn’t believe I had made it. I was motivated, happy and relaxed. The feeling was that of a heavy weight being lifted off my shoulders. A rush came over me and I suddenly knew my purpose. It was my turning point. From then on, I started painting, thanks to the overflowing of inspiration. I would wake up before sunrise and paint all day, sometimes even forgetting to eat. My house was getting overcrowded with vibrant and mesmerizing Paintings. I would always catch myself enjoying my own painting as if they had been made by someone else .
My paintings are considered an inspiration to my life. They evidently bring joy and happiness into my life and that of beholders. Gazing at my colourful paintings will convey the feeling of bathing at the beach and watching the Sunrise. In consideration, they have helped me in a tremendous way through tough times, and filled my life with ebullience and undeniable positivity. I would be happy if my paintings could transfer this vivacity, invigoration and Euphoria to any Home, Office, Hospital, school or other environment. That, I reckon, is the foremost reason why they were made.