About this artwork

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

Greatly influenced by the works of Renaissance’s artist Giuseppe Arcimboldi, the artist that used fruits to paint portrait of his subjects like “VERTUMNUS” – his portrait of Emperor Rudolph II in year 1590, O. Yemi chose Roses and Thorns to paint what he called “the fact of life”. O. Yemi interpreted the successes and failures in everyone’s life to be the “Roses and Thorns” of life.
Following this unique concept, O. Yemi painted “The Rosy Seasons of Life.” Abraham Lincoln said “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have Roses.” In spite of thorns, O. Yemi chose to celebrate the Rosy Seasons of life in this painting with the poem below.

It is a Wonderful World after all,
After all the tilling and toiling of the working time.
It’s a wonderful world after the gloomy and dreary of the winter time.
It’s a wonderful world; the sun is shining, the nightingales are singing and human beings are dancing.
It’s a wonderful world; the fields are green and the flowers are blooming.
It’s a wonderful world when the human race takes a break from all wars, worries and woes and be at peace with himself.
To enjoy the bounties of the Lord.

These are the thoughts that influenced this painting.

It is not a perfect world; it is a wonderful world.