ABSTRACT
This research is an overview of Oladesu Johnson's painting styles from 1997- 2007. The general aim is the critical analysis of the styles used by the artist in executing his paintings, and specifically, the sources of his inspiration. Attempt is made to identify the uniqueness or peculiarity of his style as well as a close examination of the relevance of his paintings to the society. The literature reviewed, centered on the meaning of style, types of styles, styles used by a host of Nigerian artists and comments on Oladesu. The researcher used the historical, analytical and descriptive approaches to achieve the stated objectives. The use of interview and photographs helped the researcher to collect data for this work, through a fieldwork. The study revealed that, Oladesu Johnson, produced paintings with major styles like realism, expressionism, impressionism and abstraction. He however, refers to a group of paintings he executed with the adaption of the butterfly motif from 1999-2004 as dualism, suggesting two sides of issues in the choice of subject matter. However, he has a personal style which is associated with his application of colours, that the researcher calls, Dotlinearism. This is observed in the use of thin lines and specks or dots which he embellishes across the surface of a finished painting. Findings from the paintings analyzed, show that, Oladesu executed the works with cool and warm colours. In most of the works he adapted motifs and colours from butterfly wings. Sources of Oladesu's inspirations are the environment, culture, education, personal philosophy and his associates. These are in addition to a notable source that he garnered from, which is the butterfly motif. The peculiar features that mark his paintings are the specs, nobs, antenna and colours adapted from the butterfly. The relevance of his paintings is seen to be thought provoking, bringing hope, joy, love and relaxation to people among others.