Arts & Design

Guinness World Records: Nigerian Art Student Breaks 10-Year Record For Longest Painting Marathon

 

After painting for 100 consecutive hours, Nigerian art student Chancellor Ahaghotu has broken a decade-old record for the longest painting marathon.

 

Chancellor, a sophomore at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, beat the previous record of 60 hours, set by Roland Palmaerts (Belgium/Canada) in 2013.

 

“I came to the United States to pursue my dreams and build up my career as a recognised artist,” Chancellor revealed prior to making his record attempt. “Breaking the record will boost my recognition as an artist both in my school and the world at large.”

 

For this record to be set, the challenger can either work on one large painting or create multiple ones, but the painting(s) must be of a recognisable image; abstract painting is not permissible. 

 

For four days, Chancellor worked tirelessly to produce 106 pieces depicting all manner of subjects, including celebrities, food items, plants, animals, amongst other things.

 

At the 60th hour, when he surpassed the previous record, he painted a broken record player.

 

“One thing I love about the paintings I created is that they were representing my different moods and how I was feeling when I created them,” Chancellor explained.

 

As with all ‘longest marathon’ records, the challenger is permitted a five-minute rest break for every continuous hour of activity – these rest breaks can be accumulated if not taken in order to use the bathroom, eat, or sleep.

 

Chancellor says he battled fatigue around the 88-hour mark, but he was committed to reaching his target of 100 hours, so he didn’t think about calling an end to the record attempt.

 

He initially planned to do one painting per hour, so before beginning the record attempt he prepared 100 canvases with sketches, ready for him to paint. However, during his paint-a-thon, he completed them all with a few hours to spare, so he then produced a series of impromptu still lifes, before finishing with a painting of an exhausted person. 

 

Upon the completion of the 100 hours of painting, the elated Chancellor said: “It was a new experience for me and I’m so glad I completed the 100 hours.

 

“This [record] helps me feel a very high level of personal achievement, build up my career as a reputable artist, and pay a service to my school and country.”

 

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