{{Short description|Painter and TV presenter (born 1972)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025 }} {{Use British English|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox person/Wikidata | fetchwikidata=ALL | dateformat = dmy }}

'''Adebanji Alade''' (born 28 February 1972), also known as "the '''Addictive Sketcher'''", is a painter and television presenter, active in the United Kingdom, who serves as president of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. He is a member of the Guild of Fine Art in Nigeria and of the council of the Chelsea Art Society.

== Early life ==

Alade was born in Hackney, London on 28 February 1972.<ref name="MG">{{cite web |title=Adebanji Alade PROI |url=https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/explore-artists/adebanji-alade-proi |publisher=Mall Galleries |access-date=4 March 2025 }}</ref>

Between the ages of 16 and 18, he lost his father, mother and elder brother.<ref name="Episode">{{Cite episode |title=The Edwards and Adebanji |series=Extraordinary Portraits |network=BBC Television |date= |series-no=3 |number=5 |transcript= |transcript-url= }}</ref> His uncle became his mentor and sponsor.<ref name="Episode" /> Between 1992 and 1997 he obtained a Higher National Diploma in Fine Art from Yaba College of Technology in Nigeria.<ref name="MG" />

He studied at Heatherley School of Fine Art from 2003 to 2005, graduating with a Diploma in Portraiture.<ref name="MG" /><ref name="Heatherley">{{cite web |title=Adebanji Alade - Painting the Mona Lisa |url=https://www.heatherleys.org/news/adebanji-alade-painting-mona-lisa/ |publisher=Heatherley School of Fine Art |access-date=4 March 2025 |date=15 October 2021}}</ref> He has also taught there.<ref name="Heatherley" />

== Career ==

In 2014 Alade was elected a full member of the Guild of Fine Art, Nigeria.<ref name="MG" /><ref name="ROI">{{cite web |title=Adebanji Alade PROI |url=https://theroi.co.uk/project/adebanji-alade/ |publisher=Royal Institute of Oil Painters |access-date=4 March 2025}}</ref> In the same year he became a member of the council of the Chelsea Art Society.<ref name="ROI" /> He was elected president of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 2023 and is its first ever black president.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artist Adebanji Alade on taking on the legacy of the The[sic] Royal Institute of Oil Painters |url=https://www.londonlive.co.uk/arts-and-culture/artist-adebanji-alade-ont-aking-on-the-legacy-of-the-the-royal-society-of-oil-painters/ |website=London Live |access-date=4 March 2025 |date=6 December 2023}}</ref>

He is the subject of a 2012 episode of the documentary series ''Life Of An Artist'',<ref>{{cite web |title=The Life of an Artist |url=https://thelifeofdocumentary.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/the-life-of-an-artist/ |website=The Life Of... |access-date=4 March 2025 |date=12 September 2012}}</ref> and has appeared as artist in residence on BBC Television's ''The One Show''.<ref>{{cite web |title=My sketchbook: Adebanji's people, landscapes and cows |url=https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/video-my-sketchbook-adebanji |publisher=Royal Academy of Arts |access-date=4 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> He recreated the ''Mona Lisa'' for a 2021 Channel 4 documentary which he presented.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Paint the Mona Lisa |url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/how-to-paint-the-mona-lisa |publisher=Channel 4 |access-date=4 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928124808/https://www.channel4.com/programmes/how-to-paint-the-mona-lisa |archive-date=28 September 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The project was also the subject of a BBC podcast.<ref>{{cite web |title=Outlook - The man who (re)painted the Mona Lisa - BBC Sounds |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct1k3q |publisher=BBC |access-date=4 March 2025}}</ref>

Alade was the featured painter in episode five of the third series of ''Extraordinary Portraits'', when he painted a group portrait of six members of the Edwards family, who all work for the NHS.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC One - Extraordinary Portraits, Series 3, The Edwards and Adebanji |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001pp1c |publisher=BBC |access-date=4 March 2025}}</ref>

He illustrated the children's book, ''Balthazar and His Bendy Bus'' (2013), by John Lane.

His self-portrait, ''Skin'' (2015), is held by the Ruth Borchard Collection.<ref>{{cite web |title=Skin |url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/skin-231614/search/actor:alade-adebanji-b-1972/page/1/view_as/grid |publisher=Art UK |access-date=4 March 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Adebanji Alade |url=https://ruthborchard.org.uk/artists/34-adebanji-alade/ |publisher=Ruth Borchard Collection |access-date=4 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

He has a studio on Lots Road, Chelsea, London.<ref name="ROI" />

== Personal life ==

Alade and his wife Ruth live in Belvedere, London, with their two children.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adebanji Alade |url=https://chelseaartsociety.org.uk/members/adebanji-alade/ |publisher=Chelsea Art Society |access-date=4 March 2025 }}</ref>

== Publications ==

Alade has authored several books

* {{cite book |last1=Alade |first1=Adebanji |author-mask=0 |title=The Addictive Sketcher |date=2020 |publisher=Search Press |isbn=978-1782215820}} * {{cite book |last1=Alade |first1=Adebanji |author-mask=0 |title=Addictive – An Artist's Sketchbook: Adebanji Alade's sketches of city life |date=2020 |publisher=Search Press}} * {{cite book |last1=Alade |first1=Adebanji |author-mask=0 |title=Painting People and Places: Capturing everyday life in oils |date=2024 |publisher=Search Press |isbn=978-1800920323}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{Official website}} * [https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/adebanji-alade-3739 Works by Alade] at DailyPaintWorks * {{ArtUK bio}} * {{IMDb name}}

{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Alade, Adebanji}}

Category:Living people Category:1972 births Category:People from Hackney, London Category:English people of Nigerian descent Category:Alumni of the Heatherley School of Fine Art Category:Yaba College of Technology alumni Category:21st-century British painters Category:Members of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Category:People from Belvedere, London Category:Artists from the London Borough of Bexley