Sounds and Rhythms of Afghanistan (S.A.R.A.)

I had the pleasure of seeing Sounds and Rhythms of Afghanistan (S.A.R.A.) perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall courtyard. Here are some watercolors of Homayun Sakhi, Abbos Kosimov, Humayun Khan and Salar Nader performing Afghan and Uzbek music along with Ballet Afsaneh performing Tajik, Uzbek and Afghan dance. Hopefully some of the fun and excitement of the performance shows through in the art.

Lonnie "Meganut" Marshall and his Rubberband Box

I went to see my friend Lonnie "Meganut" Marshall and his Rubberband Box perform at the Good Hurt. Here are a few sketches I drew during his performance. If you are in and around the LA area, I highly recommend you check him out. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, for the third time, I shared Thanksgiving in Long Beach, at a Drop in for people in need. I sat at the gratitude table along with Norma and stacks of art supplies in a Church, to share with people in writing and drawing things they are grateful for on this day.Every year it's always fun to join this group of volunteers to serve food to a lot of people who really need it. I tend to be at the art table, but it's satisfying to see the smiles and full tummies. This year there was a wonderful family with 6 kids that really made my day, along with a sweet child who came to volunteer with her mom. In fact that little girl told her mom that she wanted to come out to help instead of going to dinner for thanksgiving. Kids are so inspiring. My bud Koji enjoyed some Star Wars video games on his Nintendo.These are some photos of the kids that made my Thanksgiving so much fun. They made these wonderful cards for me and I made each of them a card too. Some were tag teams with Norma (leaf rubbings and paper hearts), the children and myself. The last one is from Alex, a young man I met outside the entrance as volunteers were setting up inside. I sat down and talked to him for a while. Like several other homeless people I have met, here was a man with a great deal of wisdom and much to share, but due to some condition, uncared for, here he was, unable to connect his thoughts and connect to life as many others do. He made me that card and I made him one too.Thanks to my friend Sonali for the invite and organizing!

Animals of Lahore

I really enjoy walking around the old walled city in Lahore, Pakistan. On my walks, I run into all kinds of interesting buildings, history, people and of course animals. In this post, I'm going to focus on that list category, animals. Early in the morning, you can see donkeys hauling bricks and other construction equipment down the narrow lanes where trucks can't go. Here and there you'll find chickens, walking around, eating, and checking out the scene. Now and then you'll see a goat, looking confused about why you're there as much as you are about it. There are even some parrots and pigeons, often kept in large cages on tall rooftops. The pigeons shown here are actually outside the walled city, in front of the National College of Arts, where I have seen people drive up and spread bird seeds around the famous Kim's Gun, a cannon immortalized by Rudyard Kipling's, who spent some years in Lahore and incidently whose father started the art college, which used to be called the Mayo School of Arts.

Occupy LA

Dangerous Child.

Compassionate Defenders arrive.

..whom?

One of those “dirty”, “lazy”, protesters? A veteran?

but after taking away several peaceful protestors.

Today I went to a protest in downtown Los Angeles, part of the Occupy LA protests in support of the nationwide Occupy Wall Street protests. I took the bus in, and ended up getting out a few blocks away. I walked up and already there was a growing police presence in the area. Was there a riot going on? Were the expensive bank buildings and luxury hotels in danger from a mob of angry, dirty people frothing at the mouth?I walked a little closer to see if I could spot one of the "lazy bums" for myself. Not surprisingly, I saw a crowd of peaceful people, of all ages and races, standing together, chanting peaceful slogans. There was nothing threatening about their posture or words. I joined them, as I had come to do.A couple of friends joined me soon enough, and we stood there, among people with placards, shouting slogans, all about taking back our system of governance for the people that are supposed to be represented. There were volunteers encouraging people to stay on the sidewalks and out of the street. There were chubby officers up on the bridge. There were ever growing lines of police in full riot gear, ready to crush our skulls. The order was twice repeated in English and Spanish, in a polite enough voice telling us that this was an unlawful assembly and that anyone still there in 5 minutes time would meet violent force, risk serious injury and go to jail. One of the cute kids next to me waved at a police officer, as lines of them spread along the street, billy clubs brandished in their fists, staring at old, short Latino women, children, and non aggressive adults of all races and builds.I felt sad that all these beautiful people have to struggle so hard to demand so little. I felt hurt for Pancho and many others I have never met who have been tear gassed, beaten and imprisoned, for peaceful protest around the country. The officers looked stern and ready to attack at a single order. They looked like us, the protesters, except they had helmets, billy clubs and all kinds of other riot gear, ready for violence. They ended up picking up all the people sitting on the street and taking them away without incident, and eventually, instead of taking the rest of us in, they backed down and left. The protest organizers, entreated upon all of us to pick up what few bits of trash were left around before the street was reopened to traffic and the next protest site was announced.I find it heartbreaking to see these officers who willingly become vicious monsters in uniform when given the order. They too are like you and I, but if given the order, they won't hesitate to break bones, trample freedoms and crush rights. That separates "them" from "us". It is not an easy choice to be moral, when those around you discourage it, but if you took an oath to protect and serve and someone orders you to attack unarmed, non-threatening civilians with brutal force then you may wish to consider what you are serving and who you are protecting.Today, I saw but a small drop in the strong current of resistance to the status quo. People dismiss this movement for not setting out policy goals, and yet there is a commonality of grievance and shared desire for redress. Just because there isn't some ego maniac telling us all what to think, doesn't mean we have no direction. Instead, the direction is one of discussion, consensus and a desire to come to decisions as a group of people brought together by the common desire to make positive change. Sounds like a democratic process to me.

Omar Kazmi of Elephants with Guns

A watercolor sketch of my friend Omar Kazmi of Elephants with Guns.

Teale Street Sculpture Studio Drawings

Went over to Teale Street Sculpture Studio for some drawing with my friend Terry. Sometimes I forget key supplies. This time, I brought my brushes, and water etc, but forgot my watercolor paints. So I improvised. I found a hiliter marker in the car and borrowed a charcoal pencil from Terry. I had a sprayer bottle which I found does some cool things. I scribbled out a layout with the marker, then sprayed it which makes it bright and washes it away a bit, then applied the charcoal pencil to the wet paper which gives a beautiful smooth line. I took a brush and added a wash to create some shadow areas.

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Bansuri/Flute Concert at the Skirball Center

I went to an Indian Classical Bansuri/Flute concert by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia at the Skirball Center and did these quick sketches. Thanks to my friend Ashish for the invite to this event of the World Sacred Music Festival.

Niambi Sims at Soul Kitchen

I went to my friend Mark Anthony Benson's Soul Kitchen and enjoyed a powerful short film about abuse, a beautiful music performance by Niambi Sims and her band as well as some great art by Scott Orner and DJing by DJ Tray Boogie.Here's a sketch of Niambi bringing her music to a the audience at the Industry Jazz Cafe, where Mark does his Soul Kitchen events. Thanks for another great night Mark!

Charlie Haden Quartet at the Catalina Jazz Club

I went to a jazz performance at the Catalina Jazz Club, courtesy of my friend Ashish. Playing that night was the Charlie Haden Quartet West. I started with a sketch of the pianist Alan Broadbent, then the drummer whose name I could not find and I managed a pencil sketch of Charlie Haden himself before the set ended. I painted my pencil sketch of Haden at home the next day. Ernie Watts played saxophone, but I did not manage a sketch of him as he was behind a music stand from where I sat. His instrument was an incredible piece of art in itself, besides the beautiful performances by all four.It was a lot of fun to feel the energy and see the joy of the performers and audience. I tried to capture a piece of that in my work.

NYC Part 3

After 9 days, with lots of walking, exploring, eating, art and music, the trip came to an end. Here are a few quick watercolor sketches I did on different days. I saw some elderly musicians in the park in Chinatown and contributed the sketch below to their change box. I met a great band near the Lincoln Center and gave them the sketch you see below. I also had the pleasure of enjoying some jazz music one late night at a place called Small's and did a few sketches there. Some of the art highlights of the trip include these incredible Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Alphonse Mucha paintings I had a chance to see in person. Besides that I picked up some great little prints by Chinese artists which will serve as some inspiration for a future work I am planning out at the moment.Thanks to my friends who gave me a place to crash. It sure makes travel easier and more fun!

NYC Part 2

I went to Lexington and had some Kashmiri chai. One day I head over to Jackson Heights in search of an excellent Pakistani painter Moazzam Ali whom I had heard might be living in the area. I called a number that may have been his at one point and even went to a building where he might have lived, but no luck. I guess it might have been a more interesting story if I had actually found him. I did talk to some desi sounding dude on the phone a few times that I called the phone number I had. Each time he just said it was a wrong number and refused to talk any further. I had better luck at the amazing Hispanic Society of America Museum. I went there to see some original paintings by the great Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida. He did an almost life size series of paintings depicting Spanish culture from his time. There was a special room set up specifically for these incredible pieces. You can see some details in the photos below.Timesquare was interesting as was Rockefeller Center, and my buddy Ashish who joined me for the second half of my trip. There was fresh fruit in Chinatown, graffiti, food stands, rain, beautiful sunsets on little Italy and all kinds of exciting life and activity in this concrete, steel and glass city.

NYC Part 1

After finishing up at Imageworks on Arthur Christmas, I looked forward to working on my own art for a bit, but it was obvious I needed to take a break and do some exploring and living before getting right back to the computer and drawing board. With the help of a few kind friends in and around New York City, I decided to go spend some days there. Over the course of nine days, I wandered around different parts of the city. From lower Manhattan to Upper and Brooklyn to Jackson Heights, Hoboken, NJ and many places in between. It was great to break away from my routine and be in a place just to be. I wasn't on my way anywhere, I didn't have anything specific I needed to do. I was just there to enjoy the experience and see what I saw.I took a lot of photos, and I'll add some to the blog. The city is a fascinating place. There is so much art and culture everywhere. There is a rich diversity of people, places and things to do.I saw beautiful churches, synagogues, some mosques and some of the best art museums I have ever been too. Really, the art collections in NYC put the permanent collections in LA to shame. Of course the LA weather can't be beat, but what's a bit of sticky sweat for some great live music and art? It was a great break. I suppose I might be odd in that my idea of a break from work is to walk morning to night and explore until exhaustion and beyond for days, but for me, that reinvigorates my excitement to go back and create. That infusion of life is just what I need to inspire a bunch of time in front of a computer or drawing board to interpret and create afterwards.Here's a first set of photos from the trip.

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.

Ice Walas in Lahore, Pakistan

Whenever I am in Lahore, I love to  walk through the back alleys of the old city. I'll try and share some of the pictures and stories from those many walks among other things, on this blog. This particular day, I ran across some ice walas. They were breaking large blocks of ice to send out to customers. Lahore is a fascinating place, with endless stories and interesting people. You never know what you'll run across. The mornings are really fun, because people are just getting started with their day, and not too busy and tired yet to stop for some conversation.The younger ice walas joked around, telling my friend Imran and I to photograph the slightly  older man, whom I assumed was their boss. There's an incredible amount of hardship to life in Pakistan. There's the security situation, the fact that electricity and gas are rationed to a few hours a day, strangling business and life and a bleak outlook on anything improving. Yet people keep going. These ice walas wake up early every morning, and work hard all day. Despite that, what I love most about taking these walks, is getting to connect to that humanity that people share so warmly. People constantly invite you to come have a cup of tea. There's a genuine interest in our photography, but it is tempered with kindness. People share facts and legends about the area, or take pride and show you their work, or just poke fun at one another in a good natured way.These photos, from a dull gray morning, remind me of the humbling resilience and kindness of the people of Pakistan.

madguru.com Gul - Concept Art Added

I've redesigned the main website with a bunch of new material and the start of many exciting new things.  Have a look at concept art from my short film Gul(flower). The concept art gallery gives  a good glimpse into the design process, from taking inspiration from real life to re imagining it for the context of the story. A lot of the design process is about how you think about each element to make intelligent choices that drive the themes and purpose of the story home. A lot of time and care goes into each decision, while trying to balance the desire for spontaneity to bring in fresh, seemingly unrelated sources of inspiration into the mix.

Original Drawing of Gul.

Concept art of the Maker

Workshop Concept Art from Gul

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!

Go watch Miral. Your Activism for the Day.

 I watched an incredible film called "Miral" by celebrated director Julian Schnabel and urge everyone to do so and write a review on Rotten Tomatoes which is a review site that can greatly help it. I won't give any spoilers to the film, so don't hesitate to read on. The film is based on the true story of several generations of women, which begins a year before the creation of Israel and runs through the time of the 1993 Oslo talks. This is a high profile film due to the fact that the director was celebrated for his previous film at Cannes and the Academy Awards and yet it is only showing in 2 theaters here in Los Angeles.Its premiere at the United Nations General Assembly in New York was protested by the American Jewish Committee, but thankfully went ahead despite that. I feel that the real power of this film is that when the truth is told without hatred and with nothing that can be easily dismissed, then it becomes truly dangerous to the very people who should feel uncomfortable by what it reveals. This film does not even begin to show the depths of cruelty visited upon people in this conflict and without that it makes perhaps an even stronger impact.This is the story of several generations of women, and their hardships come not just from the occupation of Palestine, but from everyday life. This story of people, to me is the most powerful way to create dialogue and promote a real interest in resolving serious political and humanitarian issues.What I ask, is that people please go and watch this film in the theater. Find a theater close by, or far away and watch this film and if you feel it has value, then encourage others to do the same. You have the power in your hands to make the voices of others who desperately need it heard.Watch the film, review it on Rotten Tomatoes (it takes less than 5 minutes to create an account and review it) and add it to your twitter/facebook etc. If you want to see films about under represented people, then this is your chance. If this film makes money, that will encourage Hollywood to fund and release films on these types of issues. It is a business. When you want high quality films about important topics that fail to gain the attention they merit, then support this film. It really is that simple.

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.

Gurmej Atwal and Surinder Singh

Today on my walk to work, I saw an elderly Sikh couple sitting on a stoop next to the sidewalk. I greeted them in passing with a "Sat Sri Akaal ji" to which both turned, smiled and enthusiastically replied. I walked further and said "Good morning," to another man who was staring at them a few yards further. He responded, still looking, probably just out of curiousity, before he continued into a building. I pass all kinds of people every day. There are elderly Indian couples, Latinos, African Americans, Muslim families, Latinos, Caucasions, even Caucasion Hari Krishnas around as I walk to work every day. It's a treat to pass by a Mandir and Churches, with a Mosque and several more Churches and a Synagogue down the street. I often see elderly women with their tiny footsteps, as they walk down the street in hijab, or in saris, carrying small grocery bags. There are men and women in turbans, kurtas, baseball hats, baggy jeans, suits, or a cowboy hats and boots.To me this is a treasure. The stories, a variety of languages, occupations, dreams and passions are all so rich. I need not travel the world to find it. It is right here at my doorstep and it is the most comforting, beautiful thing I can imagine. This place is not without crime and hardship, nor is it lacking in any other complications of every day life. Yet I see all manner of people up and down these streets, quite at home for this is their home. I say this without ignorance of the great economic divide that exists, where expensive restaurants line well patrolled streets in one section, and a few blocks over is an underlit forgotten neighborhood where residents are increasingly shoved out by the rising costs of rent.Despite this, I still find a diversity of culture, humanity, and not insignificantly, delicious food from Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan, Mexico, El Salvador, Greece, Italy, the Southern United States, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Korea and so much more. This is my multicultural home. This is my America, where diversity is celebrated and people are not singled out for ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or any other pick of the week. Even the accused are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This is my America, where I can walk down the street and enjoy the benefits of an incredible library system that gives me access to immense stores of knowledge.The extant to which this ideal is realized is due to people of all races, religions and orientations who have struggled, been villified and even murdered for demanding the most basic rights. This oppression comes almost always through the complicity of unscrupioulous public officials who build their campaigns not on how they will help their constituents, but how they will align voters through fear and hate to gain power. These greedy transgressors may get elected, but I have to question how hard they will fight for anyone’s rights when they are so willing to trample them.On the afternoon of March 4, 2011, two elderly Sikh men were gunned down while taking their daily afternoon walk in Elk Grove, California. Though hundreds of miles from where I live, it might as well have been right on my doorstep. 65 year old Surinder Singh was murdered and 78 year old Gurmej Atwal is in critical condition. There has been an increase in hate crimes since members of our society decided to target fellow citizens to an even greater degree after 9/11. Now somehow, we are supposed to answer to extremists for the crimes of other extremists? Perhaps if they cared so much about the community, they too would work, as many religious and non religious people in communities all over the country have, to seek out their fellow citizins through interfaith dialogue and events. Each hate crime is a direct attack on the diverse community of people I see every day. When an African American is stopped and harassed for walking in the "wrong" neighborhood, or when a Latino is looked at with suspicion in the land that his/her ancestors have called home long before Columbus, we are all affected. Two old men can no longer walk down the street and groups of people have their right to be here questioned, while those who spout hatred are given positions of power, and put on human rights advisory boards? Should we not speak out against them? Should we not shame these elected officials who think their constituents too feeble and stupid to make them answer for inciting hatred? Does it make sense for the Sikh community or the Muslim or African American or Latino community to be put on trial to explain the value of their existance? Or would it not be more fruitful to question the honesty of leaders who encourage divisions among us and sit with the very banking and healthcare institutions and the warmongers and the profiteers responsible for the economic hardships that have lead people to target one another?So while one group is singled out for the crimes of a few, what of the rest of you who are guilty of flagrant disregard for the sanctity of our lives? Where are your hearings on hate crimes? Where is your action to protect us from the nasty rhetoric of politicians who court hate mongers who preach death for people they could never be bothered to know? Perhaps these are the issues of a campaign worth running.