Elephants with Guns at Soul Kitchen

Elephants with Guns performing, pencil sketch.

I had a chance to show some of my paintings at my friend Mark Anthony Benson's Soul Kitchen, at the wonderful Industry Cafe and Jazz. It's always fun to share art and as usual Elephants with Guns where great, with a lot of impromptu jamming in addition to their beautiful songs. Omar's drumming was great. It always brings so much energy, especially when he's jamming and lets loose.I caught the back of Jayson and the talented guest additional guitarist for the night in this quick pencil sketch. Just a little something to get the drawing in.Mark shared his short film, "Casual Friday" which was a lot of fun. I really enjoy seeing my friends grow in their art, while DJ Tray Boogie kept the beats going.A perfect end to a great night.

Elephants with Guns at Soul Cafe

Elephants with Guns at Soul Cafe

I went to see my friends Elephants with Guns perform at my other friend Mark Anthony Benson's Soul Cafe. Great food at the Industry Jazz Cafe and some cool art by Hakim Wilson, John O. Nelson's Hood Tales short films, DJ Tray Boogie and a birthday party made for a fun night. I managed some watercolor sketches of the band when the Elephants took the stage. Thanks to Mark for taking the time to connect interesting artists and share it all with us, and to the Industry Jazz Cafe's awesome staff and owner Aaron (who joined EWG for a last song) for hosting. We celebrated my friend Bobby's birthday and had completely forgotten to bring paper plates and forks, but the cafe staff were so sweet to help us surprise her with a cake. Thanks everyone!

Manisha Shahane, Chirag Katti and Highway Down at the Mint

Chirag Katti and Manisha ShahaneHighway Down

I had the pleasure of seeing my friend Manisha Shahane perform some songs from her amazing new album "When Parallel Lines Meet" at the Mint.  Her cousin Chirag Katti opened up with some beautiful music on the sitar. A really fun band called Highway Down came up after them.I did some quick pencil sketches during the performances. I was trying out some cheap watercolor pencils on top of that. Basically, they are similar to colored pencils, except you can take a wet paint brush and blend it in like watercolor paint. I wonder if the colors in higher end watercolor pencils are more saturated and vibrant. I used thin paper, not really meant for watercolors, which is why it is a bit wrinkled from the water.

Highway Down performs at the Mint.

Sri Lanka Tsunami Relief Tea Party

I went to a tea party...no not that one. So, often times when disasters hit, they have long term affects that require assistance much after the actual event. I went to a charity tea party put on annually by the Sri Lanka Tsunami Relief Fund of North Hollywood. This group has been working to sponsor a group of children orphaned during the Tsunami since shortly after the disaster. My friend Supun's mother, who is an incredible cook puts this and other fundraisers together throughout the year for great causes.

Two of my other friends, Jayson Joseph and Nisha Mathew Mani performed with their band performing Bollywood and regional Indian movie songs as well as a popular Sri Lankan number, and you can see the sketches I did of them.

There isn't really much to be found about this wonderful grassroots effort online, but here's a PDF about their inspiring work.

Tuesday Night Cafe Taz and Jayson

Now that I'm back in LA, I had a chance to visit the Tuesday Night Cafe in Downtown. Tuesday Night Cafe features community supported art. I love doing sketches of the performers. Here are some sketches of the performers.It was great to see the community come together and support music and poetry. It gave me a chance to get back into some quick and live watercolors.Here's one I did of Wes Gabrillo: