Hope

In this painting titled Hope, Aina Onabolu portrays a woman selling fruits in what might be a village market. She is sitting on a bench, under a shed alongside her covered basket which has some samples of the fruit she is selling displayed above the lid of the basket. The fruits look yellow like oranges and are displayed in fours in a typical fashion/arrangement one would normally see in the local markets. The act of selling fruits goes way back in time and is traditional in Nigeria, it is still very common among women of different ethnic groups all over the country today. Orange is a well cultivated and consumed commodity nationwide. Thus, selling it gives its traders plenty of “hope” and assurance of a sustainable income to alleviate their financial plights. Onabolu displays maturity in the choice and use of colours for effects. The blend of grey, rusty yellow, brown, and black colours used is really commendable.