Ajani (Ah-jah-nee) The name from the Yoruba of Nigeria means, one who takes possession after a struggle. I was born in New Jersey where thank God we spent our summers at art camp. My mother moved all 4 of her boys to Miami Florida to live with her mother. I grew like a foot over the summer. This was the best thing she could have done. My mother at 65 has just published her first book of poetry.

I reclaimed my Caribbean heritage in Miami. Now I am part Bahamian. I had family in a land other than the US. The thought gave me a sense of pride. In Coconut Grove Florida the Bahamians who had money settled that area and have a rich history there. I saw bright colors and beautiful people in Miami. You can see the influence Miami had on me by the intense use of color in my artwork.

When I thought I was grown I moved from Florida to California. At 22 years of age I followed my high school sweetheart to California. She married someone else. I moved on to find myself. I worked with a woman from Nigeria who saw my artwork and loaned me some money to open up an art gallery in Oakland, California. Years later to my amazement, the gallery begin to breathe, pay its own bills, keep the doors open. At the height of my business ownership, my neighbor who owned a Latin culture gallery had a BIG fire and my dream ended. Frustrated I moved to Washington, DC to get away from many things.

Now in DC, I decided to go back to school at age 40 and get a Bachelor’s degree in International business. The purpose was to learn how to own my own business again. I had many, many struggles but I graduated cum laude. After not picking up a paint brush for years, I ran into a person who commissioned me to paint a portrait of Shirley horn a jazz artist. She had recently passed away. I have not stopped painting since that time. Ashe