Peace Paintings

Born on December 24, 1978, Bernard Mensah started schooling at the age of six. After his elementary education, he proceeded to the College of Arts and Industry, where he acquired an in-depth knowledge of artistic designs that aided him in becoming what he long cherished and wanted to be, a prominent and prolific painter.

Bernard's family has been the center of his life. Being the eldest of three children, his single mother – a trader – has been very encouraging in his quest by providing him with all the materials he needed. He enjoys the closeness of his family very much because they are his inspiration, and he believes that God, through his mercy, will grant his mother more years to enjoy the fruit of her labor.

Painting has been with Bernard from infancy. When he was a child, he created images through his own imagination. Asked how he creates his works, he responds that creativity is a form of religion that he believes in; "I create to portray how I see nature and to exhibit the artistic qualities in me. To say it all, I do not paint for money."

Mensah's greatest inspiration is the innermost satisfaction he derives after a quiet time, when he takes some time off to explore positive ways of enlightening his paintings. To the admiration of mankind, he translates illusion into reality in the form of painting. He uses canvas and acrylic paints in all the work that he does. Asked why, Mensah replies "I like working with acrylic because it suits my type of painting; I like innovation in my works because it gives me different opinions every time and my sense of coloring also adds some genuineness to the paintings. I try to portray what is in me and being me is what I create.

"I have participated in a number of local and international exhibitions, and these have helped in no small way in shaping and bringing out the finesse in my skills to date."