Art by Babs and his Atelier

Known principally as a painter of “naïve” or folk art, Babs’ scenes of daily life in Burkina Faso are included in African, European, and American art collections. His colourful works show the busy, interrelated and sometimes chaotic street and village life of west Africa in ways that portray his subjects with animation, humor and, above all, dignity.

Artists, mostly younger, work in Babs’ atelier in order to learn the craft. Here, from left to right, are Babs, Madson and Bisso.

Babs’ studio is on a street in the centre of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He began 40+ years ago with only a chair and an easel beside an empty field, with his paintings displayed on a fence. His particular style developed over the decades into a distinct genre of African art. What began as, largely, “tourist art” matured over time into sensitive depictions of the street life that surrounded him.