Tayo Adenaike arguably Nigeria’s foremost watercolour painter was born on the 27th of April, 1954, at Idanre, Ijebu-Imushin, in Ogun State, Western Nigeria. He had his first formal art lesson in 1967, while in high school at Federal Government College, Warri, in the Delta region of Nigeria. In 1974, he enrolled to study Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, under the tutelage of such distinguished artists as Uche Okeke, Obiora Udechukwu, and Chike Aniakor.

Since after his MFA studies in 1982, Adenaike has combined painting and advertising, having co-founded Dawn Functions Nigeria Limited in 1984. As a painter, Adenaike has had a most fructifying practice, having exhibited in different parts of the world.