EMCAS Artist Interview- OMtNI

December 4,2020 | StudentCanvasJamaica

Lowell OMtNI Royer is as interesting and deeply reflective as his pseudonym OMtNI (the t being silent). The deeper search of the artist’s fascinating and unique title revealed “the name OMtNI comes from the combing form Omni, which means ‘all’ when placed before anything. This speaks to the artist's versatility in creating a wide range of art.

But it isn’t just his illuminating name that draws attention; it’s his eye catching works of art. As a start to our “Emerging Modern Caribbean Artists Series” (EMCAS) we decided to engage the artist and light bender OMtNI.

Lowell 'OMtNI' Royer is a multi faceted artist who is not limited to any fixed medium. His choices range from skin, concrete, wood, digital art and everything in between. A native of Massacre in the Commonwealth of Dominica (little known fact Dominica is not the same as Dominican Republic), which is situated in the Windward Islands.

A past student of the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, OMtNI's captivating artwork forces viewers to pause and really soak up the kaleidoscope of colours, forms and textures in his work. Mr. Royer is also the president of the Waitukubuli Artist Association, a dynamic arts group in Dominica. (Visit their site at www.kubuliarts.com). His work can be viewed on his social media pages- omtni.com, Deviantart.com/omtni, Artstation.com/omtni,

Or @omtni on Instagram and Facebook.

OMtNI’s background in art began at a young age but he began painting at age 14 “Drawing all over my schoolbooks and myself was my main reflex… I Mostly created for the love of it and even when I started making money from art, I never really cared about the money because I mainly focused on figuring out the challenges that each artwork brought. . Now, as a full-time artist, there is hardly a moment when I am not immersed in some form of creative thought.”

It’s interesting to note, that though the creative drive flowed through his veins at an early age, his upbringing did not immediately prompt him to become an artist “My upbringing did quite the opposite, since my mother was against my wanting to become an artist because she didn’t want me to struggle and didn’t yet understand the value of doing what you love for a living, which could lead to greater prosperity and joy than more normal careers. My uncle, on the other hand, was the one who really encouraged me to take art more seriously, instead of just doing it for fun.”

He would go on to enter art fairs, national exhibitions and group exhibitions overseas which gave him exposure to other works of art and his own. OMtNI’s experience at Edna Manley College in Jamaica in the year 2010 provided avenues for self learning, research and methods of thinking like an artist. He noted that the experience especially in his life drawing classes instilled self discipline and has influences how he creates “I always strive to outdo what I did before, if time allows, and I put quality over quantity. I usually seek out any learning material that can help me to improve whatever I think needs to be better so my art tends to improve mentally, even when I’m not physically creating something.”

As free and spirited as his paintings of birds, OMtNI is not a follower of trends “I tend not to follow trends; it has never been my thing. Even when listening to music, my mind is better stimulated when I hear something that I don’t come across very often.”

OMtNI creates work based around the theme of birds and nature, and acknowledged his overall style to be “dramatic realism” capturing intricacies others might not think much of. “I enjoy watching my imagination materialize, so fantasy and stylization shine the most in my artwork”

He went on to mention that his keen eye for the overlooked adds interest to his compositions “the other day I saw and photographed a parhelic circle which is a special light halo around the sun, with rainbows, just before it sets. I instantly added it to my extensive collection of things to paint”. His varying and eclectic body of work has been credited to his dislike of doing the same thing multiple times. “I crave new journeys and get more excited when trying something that I’ve never done before, while relying on whatever experience I may have to make it as effective as possible.”

The artist’s process of creating involves sifting through a sea of ideas as he is “bombarded by new ideas every single day, so I make notes of them”. The process then includes creating sketches until he is pleased with the “compositional feel” he is satisfied with.

“Most of my inspiration is centered around art that relates to my current project or I spot colors or elements that I like that somehow solidifies my confidence in the outcome of different aspects of the final product. Though I like to think that my work is original, whenever realism or accuracy is the goal, I use many references, many of which are photos that I took myself or something about one of my previous works that I really like.”

The most important aspect of his creative process is when“the artwork takes over and shows me elements that I didn’t see coming but become important parts of the artwork. I used to experience a lot of frustration when trying to force the piece to be a certain way but since I started allowing it to take on a life of its own, my work is a lot more enjoyable and rewarding because I am never really sure of what I am doing and get excited when hidden gems pop up.”

The most challenging parts of his process is “knowing when to stop so I may overwork my pieces, especially as I’m never truly satisfied. A dynamic, realistic piece might take 2 extra days after I thought that it was finished and, after I sign the piece, I may see many elements that I would have rendered more or some effect that I would have fine-tuned.”

When asked what advice he would give to student artists and up and coming artists he said “To the students I would like to say don’t be afraid to dive into the next project. Practice, explore, experiment. Do what the assignments demand but ensure that you put your own creativity into it because that’s what will make it exciting for you and will bring about better results.”

We hope you were inspired by the work of OMtNI and go on to create your own masterpieces. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @ studentcanvasja. Don’t forget to sign up for membership to stay up to date on more EMCAS features.