Tag Archives: friends

sketchbook

Weekend shenanigans

Like I said the other day, I just have to keep up with the scenius. Keep drawing daily, find opportunities to study the form, and keep trying, good or not, as Lynda Barry has said.

One thing we forget with digital media is the material properties of the materials…the organic flow or the way the materials shape the outcomes.

I haven’t any experience with watercolours and so pushing myself out of the comfort zone of flat colors which is what you need in comics but – my friend Raj always complains my drawings look a bit flat.

So tried a bit of depth in last night’s sketch – coloured this on Procreate where inks don’t bleed haha.

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sketchbook

Hanging out with the scenius

Austin Kleon often talks about gathering a scenius, and I have to say – for me that’s @pacificleo @royalbengal @whackonondo & @the_legend_of_raj. We have a group called Wider than the sky. What is great is that my scenius is not just talking, but also doing. They’re constantly making things, churning out ideas, art, films, explorations – so I have no option but to do, and keep up my end!

There’s no way to escape, @the_legend_of_raj even sent me that handy little @sennelier1887 watercolour box!

These drawings are from the weekend, drawing at a street corner outside our little tornado’s karate class.

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drawing, Life, sketchbook

With our pack of memories slung slack on our backs

This video and the earlier one are how my day-to-day journal drawing takes place. I sit down with my book and try to draw what’s on my mind. Sometimes I start by drawing what’s in front of me – which is why there are so many drawings of Orin eating! At other times I draw the day, how things went, what I listened to, or read. Sometimes my mind is blank and quite often the fear of the empty page threatens to take over.

But the important thing is to show up, and get over that fear, the fear of not being good enough, the fear of not living up to your own expectations. And after some time, I find the flow, I start to commune with myself, and joy takes over.

Title from Joy Harjo, via Pome by Matthew Ogle

Looking back, some favorites from the last decade: Doing what you love (2013); Channeling the girls (2013); Life with Picasso, Art (2013)

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art, People, travels

Deez’s Evil Eye birthday

One evening in San Fransisco from a couple of years ago has been on my mind for the past few days. Deez was celebrating her birthday with some friends, and I joined in, glad to have caught up with her on this the trip. Here are my journal pages from that day.

“How many times in your life do you meet strangers and they have read your blog? Nothing like a surprise burst of celebrity-dom to bolster my ego!”

“In full entertainer mode I regaled everyone with stories of how the brown boy and I got together, and how did our little tornado come into our life.”

“We went for a long moonlight walk through the streets of Mission, took in the street art and curiosities peculiar to the culture. Arati told us stories of how the Mission came to be, and Deez her past selves that had moved through the area. We had awesome Mexican food and laughed so much.”

“There was happy birthday flan and we remembered all the stories of a dragonfly childhood. Remembered all the missing friends and how important they are.”

Here are some of the street art I saw:

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sketchbook

In loving memory of the one and only Parsa

Some of you know our friend Parsa. Back in 2008 I had drawn a story for his birthday The one and only Parsa. On Tuesday 4th Feb, he passed away. He and I were flatmates in Ahmedabad back in 2001-2002 along with our other friends Reshmy and Rahul Das.

One night another friend Tuttu had come over. Suddenly –

Anyway, we found some water for him…

and that was that…

Another day…

Parsa: Nandisoo Look at me! I am the messiah!
Soo: Dude you slept with the window open again!

Another time –

Parsa: We’ll take you to the Oscar awards ceremony with us, Nandisoo…
Rahul Das: Yes, you’re sweet to us and help us and we will take you when we win…

Parsa was not like the rest of us. He had so much passion and so much drive. These last few months he gave us a lot of attention with his daily messages and sometime later I understood that was his way of showing love…

“You have immortalised me in time,” Parsa had commented when he read the other post. I wish that this could really do that ❤︎

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Life, People, sketchbook

Journal drawings, 2019

Drawings from my journals about some of the lovely people I have met here. Most of these are drawn from memory, like cartoonists often tend to do, but the discipline of drawing from life is always required.

This was drawn the day I started feeling like I belonged…

A lovely Andhra dinner at Teju’s – it was also our friend Pallavi’s birthday that day.

This is a drawing from the farewell party for the warm and wonderful Harini.

Drawing these I felt I needed some practice drawing from real life: See how the lines are different…

Madam Uma is always present but absent as Anu likes to say…and I really like the drawing of Anu below where she looks so much like her daughter…

❤︎

Title by CS Lewis

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