Fabunmi’s interest in art began as a child, she developed her artistic skills just as she learned how to read and write but realized it was a gift when she noticed that her peers could not draw like she could. At six, she would make small drawings and render them with colored pencils. Her late dad had a spot on the wall of his studio where he pinned up all her work. He was an architect and in her sheltered upbringing, his tools of creativity and his artistic influence surrounded her. As a teenager, art became her sanctuary, she wrote poetry, made drawings, paintings, collage, mosaic and fabric designs with tie-dye and batik. Upon her high school graduation, she received a Proficiency Certificate in Fine Art.
Dissuaded by her parents for the lack of faith that a career as an Artist could earn her a comfortable living, she ended up with a Bachelor of Science degree in Estate Management also called Real Estate. Her Department was in the Faculty of Environmental Design and Management that also housed the Fine Art department. This posed as a great advantage to her as she spent her free time in the Fine Art studios.
After her graduation, she decided to pursue her passion by embarking on a Masters in Fine Art. She knew that if she ever had to go back to school it would be on her own terms. She got on the Internet and searched for art schools abroad and that was when she discovered the Academy of Art. She made contact with the school, but at that time, could not afford the fees so she put it on hold and faced her corporate career.
Her only work experience in Real Estate was six months of Industrial Training. She then ventured into broadcasting, banking and telecommunications, moving from industry to industry in search for what she always had; a fulfilling career. She never stopped drawing and painting. She later got introduced to a gallery owner who purchased five of her watercolor paintings and was pleasantly surprised. In that same year, she made her first oil painting. She would paint and sell one- on- one to those who were privy to seeing her work as it was like a hobby. The gallery owner introduced her to art associations in Nigeria, of which she eventually became a member. Fabunmi slowly integrated herself into the art world in Nigeria and had her first art exhibition in 2008. Since then she had been exhibiting and selling her works while running a regular 8-5 job.
In 2011, Fabunmi was commissioned to supply art works to an establishment in Lagos Nigeria. This was the break she had been looking for and it paid her enough to pick up her dream of an MFA in Fine Art painting at the Academy Of Art University.
