The astonishing beauty of art lies sweetly in her subjectivity; take this away and she is left without skills and the diverse techniques that involve the production of visual representations—she becomes rigid and less productive as there is little or no room for creativity. Limited becomes the power of the production of beautiful or thought provoking works.From the bowl of her palms she generously offers a drink of the freedom of expression. The womb of individuality is unpredictable; she can fashion anything— like the birth of Etimism for instance.

Etimism is a style of painting, a combination of thick bold tactile strokes; and the medium for execution is Etimpaste, an echo friendly medium (water soluble). However, oil and acrylic paints can also be used to achieve this.  The lack of quality materials to work with can make even the best of artists seem unprofessional. One of the major problems Nigerian artists (both professionals and student artists) are facing today is the problem of lack of materials to work with as most of our materials (especially paints) are imported therefore very expensive. http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/etim-ekpenyong.html

http://artslant.com/global/artists/.../226825-etim-ekpenyong-mfon?ta...

In the year 2005, as a General Art student of Yaba College of Technology, I experienced this problem—I had little or no money to buy colours because they were too expensive for the common student; hence, I thought of producing my own pigments with the local raw materials available to me. Like they say  "necessity is the mother of inventions", I felt a need to solve a problem and that burning desire propelled me to carry out a research on the production of pigments that can meet up to international standards— a painting medium that can stand the test of time. And through the help of divine friends and perseverance, the dream was actualized—Etimpaste, an echo friendly medium was born. 

Etimism, a style of painting that attempts to achieve the followings:

1. Encourage peace and unity amongst gender, tribes and races through the combination of thick bold tactile strokes

2. To sensitize especially the timid younger generation on the need to break free from the shackles of timidity and be bold and articulate

3. Attempt at bridging the gap between painting and sculpture

Encourage world peace and unity

The philosophy of Etimism is that, there is great power in unity, and boldness is associated with power. Every single stroke represents an individual, tribe or nation as the case may be; when put together; it forms one meaningful, solid and bold whole. When a nation, tribe, or family is united they can achieve just about anything they set their minds to. There is an adage that says "If cobwebs unite they will tie a lion." With this I heartily agree. Moreover, there is beauty in diversity, therefore, a single thick stroke may not make sense neither will it look beautiful; but a combination of thick bold tactile strokes of different colours and tones will sure do make a lot of sense, moreover such will be gorgeous. Therefore, there is beauty in multiracial diversity, and equal beauty in multi-ethnic diversity. There is no sense in separation and prejudice as these two only limits the ability of man, but there is great sense in unity and peace, as it empowers humankind to be Godlike—unity and peace brings about a network of prosperity.  http://socyberty.com › People

Hatred and violence has have made extremely ugly the face of human history—her face deformed by scars—scars that could have been avoided if only we heed the soft voice of peace rather than the ranting of violence.

Disunity will never put clean clothes on our backs but rags…violence will not put health in our bones but decay. It has become imperative that all, both great and small should strive to protect our peace and unity, because some of those who have lost theirs never lived to tell the tale. Moreover, in our strive for a more perfect union, we should not shut God out, rather we should draw closer to Him because He is love, therefore, it is only through Him the human race can achieve a healthier world.

"Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well…." - Vincent Van Gogh

Violence and prejudice we must do without, as they robe us in sorrow. We owe it to our children (both born and unborn) to build a healthier world for them: a war free world, where guns will cease to roar, deadly chemicals no longer poison the atmosphere sucking life from lungs, where bombs cease to tear homes and families apart, and where unclaimed cadavers will no longer dot our landscapes

We are tired of wearing the ancient rob of hatred and violence: hand-me-downs faithfully passed on from one generation to another. We are tired of taking up arms and bleed our lands, destroy our homes with our own hands; tired of burying our young men and women in their prime, living in fear of our fellowmen. We are tired of seeing the graves of our little once—little ones devoured by insatiable guns. Therefore, it is time we denude ourselves of this robe of hatred and violence, and clothe ourselves with love and unity; for it is only then that we can have true respect for life, as we come to a full understanding of its meaning, and so, enjoy it to its fullness.

Moreover, families should strive to love one another—husbands should love their wives and wives should do same so that they can guide their children on the right path—the path of love and affection. Suffice to say here that the love in our different homes reflects greatly in the larger society; if we cannot love those whom we share the same roof with, if we live in disunity and hate with members of our blood, how do we expect to live in peace and unity with nonmembers of our nuclear family? Without love in the heart of a man such is a walking corps—love keeps the spirit soul and body alive as it keeps one connected to God. Therefore, first of all, love God, love yourself and then your fellowman whether members of your nuclear family or not, or your tribes men or not or of same skin colour as yours—love all!

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neigbour as yourself" Luke 10: 27 b

"Love all that has been created by God both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf and every ray of light. Love the beasts and the birds and the plants, love every separate fragment. If you love each fragment you will understand the mystery of the whole resting in God…." Fyodor Dostoevsky

We should strive for a peaceful world—a world where violence and prejudice no longer dictate to us how long we will live under the sun; but a world where peace and unity guides us deeper and deeper to the very bosom of Utopia.. 

It is my strong belief that Utopia is not that far away; our ticket to that blissful land is love and understanding amongst tribes, races and gender. Love is all the ticket we need to live a healthier and happier life on earth, and dialogue (an offspring of love) is ever ready to take us by the hand and lead us to that blissful world of peace and unity.

Sensitize the Timid On the Need to Free Themselves from the Shackles of Timidity

The bible says that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but He has given unto us the spirit of love, the spirit of power and of sound mind.

In a world such as this where trials and set backs bedevils the living, many lost their self-confidence, and others even their self-worth. Inferiority complex is indeed an arch enemy of individual progress and that of a people; as it limits even their scope of imagination and dreams; which in turn affects their pursuit of happiness. Therefore, Etimism sought to sensitize especially the younger generation on the need to break free from the clutches of timidity—to flap their wings and fly into the rich blue skies of freedom, joy and the fulfillment of dreams. Moreover, to live a life free of fear of man, but fear of God and love for our fellowman.

Bridge the Gap between Painting and Sculpture

This style of painting attempts at bridging the gap between painting and sculpture with the aid of very thick bold tactile strokes. Colours are laid on grounds with the aid of specially designed pallet knife to achieve that desired effect—a combination thick bold and almost round tactile strokes. When viewed, one gets an impression of sculpture (relief work) and yet, a painting. This is an attempt at fusing painting (a two dimensional art form) with sculpture (a three dimensional art form).