In Conversation With Elizabeth Omoruyi
On rediscovering art, celebrating womanhood and family, embracing her multi-hyphenate nature, and finding inspiration in the everyday.
I have just arrived at Elizabeth’s monochromatic town apartment tucked away in the bustle of Calabar on a scorching March afternoon. Despite the hum of the city outside, her home emits a sense of calm, a sanctuary where family life clasps onto artistic expression. The first thing that catches my eye on entering her living room is a portrait referencing her dog, Mufasa, on the white wall. It looked so lifelike that I partially expected him to pop out of the frame and bark hello, but he didn’t.
As we sunk into the sofa, Omoruyi welcomed me warmly with her presence radiating the confidence of a woman who has worn many hats and worn them well, making me so eager to experience this incredible powerhouse and for what will turn out to be one of my favorite interviews ever.
She identifies as a visual artist, author, marriage counselor, entrepreneur, executive assistant, and, of course, wife and mother to two beautiful children: 14-year-old Jessey, an emerging artist herself, and 12-year-old Nate, a young boy with musical tendencies, a gift Omoruyi believes was also inherited from her. "I used to sing in the choir," she says, her voice softening. "I even compose gospel songs from time to time." A jack of many trades and MASTER OF ALL in the flesh.
For Omoruyi, art was always there, like a companion waiting for her return. As a child from Henshaw town in Calabar South, but born and raised in Lagos, she spent hours sketching faces from memory as a young girl in primary school with her mother indulging her passion with drawing books. "I would sit down, just sketching people’s faces," she recalls, her voice warm with nostalgia. Like many youthful interests, particularly in African homes, art was supplanted by more ‘practical’ pursuits. She pursued a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Electronics Engineering, a degree that she ended up not utilizing, and spent over a decade working in the corporate world, where she was surrounded by projects and deadlines with not enough time to create even if she wanted to.
Having served in the oil and gas sector as a Customer Service Specialist at ExxonMobil for 12 years, including a 6-year duration as secretary to PENGASSAN (Mobil chapter) and an Award of Operational Excellence for her outstanding leadership and exceptional performance among customer service teams to top it all up, it has now been 3 years since Omoruyi completely walked away from paid employment and stepped into her artistic identity, and she is evidently still thriving.
“My 'why' for quitting paid employment was rooted in family. When my husband relocated from our residence in Lagos to Cross River State in pursuit of his passion for farming, I knew I had to prioritize being with my loved ones. Family has always been my top priority, and I felt called to support my husband's dreams while nurturing our family's well-being.”
I went on to ask if she preferred living in Lagos to Cross River, and her answer was negative. She feels more at peace here. Lagos to her is noisy and polluted with so much traffic. “Imagine spending 2 hours on the road for a supposed 15-minute journey. That life was slowly taking away my life, and I was over it.”
Her artistic reawakening came unexpectedly through the eyes of her daughter, Jessey. Watching her child’s natural inclination for drawing stirred something within her. "She had a tutor who would come by, and I found myself correcting my daughter’s work sometimes and even encouraging her to use her imagination for more," Omoruyi shares with a chuckle.
What began as playful participation soon became a calling too loud to ignore, so in 2022, when her family relocated to Akpabuyo in Cross River, she picked up her pencil to complete the family's portrait collection birthed by Jessey, as she had drawn her father’s and brother's faces. Elizabeth chose to express her artistic side by drawing portraits of herself and her daughter, kicking off an exciting new chapter as a visual artist with the nomenclature, Betty Artistry.
Omoruyi’s art is as multifaceted as she is, with a clientele that runs internationally. Though she works across media, pencil remains her tool of choice for portraiture.
"Pencil allows me to capture the soul of a person and get as close to their essence as possible. I feel like God borrows me his pencil for a while—you know how it says in the Bible that ‘we are all pencils in the hand of the creator.’ Whenever I draw someone, it makes me feel closer to God. I marvel at the creation of the almighty."
…she explains, with her hands unconsciously mimicking the delicate strokes of her craft. She also loves working with mixed media, especially for showcased works. “It gives me room to be creative. The harmony of colors, colors speak a lot, a color can make you happy or angry.”
Her works pulse with narratives of African identity, feminine strength, celebration of love, the beauty of animals, and the unseen stories beneath the surface. Pieces like “African Woman” and “The Nurturing Woman” celebrate the beauty and resilience of African women, “Our Struggle”—a raw, evocative reflection on Nigeria’s socio-economic hardships. "Artists have a responsibility to speak on social injustice," Omoruyi asserts. "That piece came from a place of frustration. How do you survive in a country without basic infrastructure while costs keep rising? We are in a jail cell where many people don’t have the luxury to ‘escape.’"
In “The Spirit Behind Ekpe” (2024), she highlights the mysticism of the Ekpe masquerade, blending realism with abstract forms to capture the tension between seen and unseen. The artist’s Efik heritage is not just a cultural background, it is a constant source of inspiration that threads through her work, adding depth and authenticity to the pieces she creates.
Her artistic process usually begins by conceptualizing exactly what she wants to showcase. “Even though everything is involved in the picture, one thing should be the main focus, one thing should speak.” She refuses to rush into an artwork; rather, she sits on it for 2-7 days for commissioned portraits and maybe more when it comes to inspirational pieces that require a greater magnitude of work, where she not only thinks of what to do but the materials to use too. And when the artwork is finally complete, she doesn't rush to sell it off. She is patient enough to wait for the right customer, sharing that “the best sales are usually the people that appreciate and value the artwork, even when they might bargain cheaper.”
Yet, even an artist with such a rich well of inspiration faces creative blocks. When that happens, Omoruyi doesn’t force the process. "I take a step back," she reveals. "I stop creating and start observing and learning. Looking at other artists’ work always reignites something in me. You can't be a loner in the art world. People should inspire you." She remains a lifelong learner and is even looking to take up sculpting.
Elizabeth primarily lives with her husband and children on a farm on the outskirts of Akpabuyo, an area almost at the Cameroon border, but comes up to reside in Calabar on the weekdays during the kids’ academic session since they school in town. Falling into the ‘creating vibe’ is more challenging for her out here in town. The unnecessary noise makes it hard to concentrate and/or find inspiration compared to her family's farmland, where she is surrounded by trees, cool breezes, harmonious chirping birds, and all. In the midst of all this, she is looking forward to hosting her own exhibition of golf-inspired art pieces, hopefully later in the year, which she says was propelled by her newfound interest and love for the game.
When asked what being a woman means to her, Omoruyi pauses—thoughtful, deliberate. "A woman is a vessel of creation," she says finally.
"Beyond birthing children, we birth ideas, dreams, and legacies. It takes immense strength to nurture something into greatness, and many women do so without receiving any pat on their back."
Her reflections aren’t abstract musings but lived realities. She takes me back to her days as an engineering student in university, “In a class of over 100 students, only 11 were girls, and we girls were the higher flyers without breaking our backs and have come out to do exceptionally well too.”
She also speaks fondly of her younger female mentor, Blessy Bassy, who she says is her favorite visual artist and has helped shape her artistic journey, describing her as personable, patient, and knowledgeable, but her admiration doesn’t stop there. She finds creative fuel in the creations of female Nollywood directors like Funke Akindele, Bolanle Austen-Peters, and Jadesola Osiberu, women who are carving out meaningful narratives and achieving remarkable success on the big screen.
In addition to her art, Omoruyi is a professional and passionate marriage counselor as Betty's New Beginnings, guiding couples through the complexities of partnership. Although she is currently taking a break to better cater to her children's academic needs, her journey into counseling began organically, offering advice to colleagues at work before evolving into a formal practice. "I used to give advice for free," she laughs. "Someone finally said, ‘Why not put this on a bigger platform?’" She has been counseling folks globally since 2016, specializing in both pre-marital and marital counseling. Her approach blends empathy with cognitive-behavioral techniques, empowering clients to navigate their relationships with clarity. "I don’t tell people what to do," she emphasizes. "I guide them to discover solutions for themselves."
Her love for love itself stimulates her counseling practice. She met her husband at 17, married him at 25, and 23 years later, their bond remains a wellspring of inspiration. "I’ve lived through both dating and marriage," she says. "That experience allows me to connect deeply with the people I counsel."
Her book, Squeezing the Sweet Nectar Out of Your Marriage, is a comprehensive guide to marriage, blending fictional case studies with practical advice and even offering assessments to help you decide answers to your own questions. "It’s like a marriage Bible," she says with pride. "It is designed to help people evaluate and strengthen their relationships, from telling you what to prepare for in marriage to opening your eyes to signs of a bad union, helping you better communication, your sex life, raising children, waiting for children, and a lot more." Currently available as an e-book on Selar, she hopes to release a physical edition soon, and eventually write more books.
At this point we are going over all her professions again, and she adds strongly, “motherhood is a job,” so I immediately affirm her statement and go ahead to ask if she has always had an idea of who she wanted to be as a mother. “I don't think anyone ever has a complete picture of who they want to be as a mother.” The beauty in it for her, though, is watching her children mature and knowing that she was a part of that beautiful process. “For me, that’s the most fulfilling thing ever,” she adds. She continues to speak about Jessey and Nate, and shares that when people commend her mothership she doesn't exactly believe them, although she appreciates when her husband does it.
“Maybe it is because I see myself still forming my children. You want them to reach a particular stage in life, and when that comes there is always another. You constantly ask yourself if you're communicating well and being a good leader to your child. It is easy to say ‘do as I say,’ but am I showing them how to? As far as I am concerned, it is a never-ending journey.”
For Omoruyi, establishing a legacy is more important than achieving personal gratification. In line with her favorite quote, “What is worth doing is worth doing well,” she champions humility, authenticity, a spirit of excellence, and impact over monetary gain. Her life's work is a monument to the strength of love, resiliency, and the beauty of embracing one's many qualities, whether she is drawing the essence of a face in pencil, helping a couple to a place of enjoyment rather than endurance, or encouraging her kids' artistic and academic abilities.
As our near three-hour conversation draws to a close with her kids and niece in sight, she reflects on what drives her forward. "It’s not about having a large audience," she says softly. She strives to touch lives, one artwork, one conversation, one story at a time. And in that, Elizabeth Omoruyi is not just creating art. She is creating a world where every part of herself: artist, wife, mother, counselor, can shine, and where people that might encounter her could reach their full potential with her input as well.
Happy International Women's Day and Month, loggers! 💚
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This was so intriguing and satisfying to read.
Oh wow!!! Truly inspiring❤️