Eid Festival Anaheim 2013

Enjoyed some food, friends, family, games and music at the Eid Festival 2013 in Anaheim. Here's a sketch I created of a great performance by a doumbek and flute player at the show.

Presentation at Interfaith Council of Garden Grove, Stanton, and Westminster

My friend Ann Nguyen, who inspires with all the care and good she does, invited me to share a presentation at the Interfaith Council of Garden Grove, Stanton and Westminster, at their monthly lunch time meeting. It was a lot of fun to share the story of the Girnari Jogi Group, and how I met them through creating my short film Gul. I talked about my work, and more importantly, the story of how it was that through the help of many dear friends in Pakistan and the U.S. that journey led to a short film with music by incredible musicians, practicing their centuries old tradition, a crowd funded album that raised funds for them, and even today continues to bring them to new audiences.It seemed almost appropriate what happened afterwards. Ann found that she had a flat tire. As I was pulling out the spare to change it, a young man named Elrod walked up and asked if we needed any help. We said sure, and had a little chat and changed the tire. It turns out he's a student, and teaches swimming close by and happened to be on his break. There's something great about simple acts of kindness. I know that nothing I have done would be possible without endless help from people who step forward to ease things along the way. Thank you.

Thor 8 Bit

I created an 8 bit design based on Marvel Comics' Thor, inspired by video games from my childhood and the epic stories written and drawn by Walter Simonson. Please vote for it on threadless, so it can be the design chosen for their contest.

Thor 8 Bit design for Threadless contest.

It was Walter Simonson, who created what to me is the definitive mythology for Thor in comics. I remember my brother and I scrounging through dusty stacks of comics in book stalls wherever we went in Pakistan, in search of dog eared comics. Every time we saw a book store or stall, we'd make our parents stop so we could go in and ask if they had comics. Sometimes they only had Archie, and we'd walk away disappointed, but every now and then, there would be some well worn copies of Marvel and DC comics. You'd get issue 300 of something, and maybe the year before we picked up 298 and eventually we would have a semi solid run on a book. These were some of the best times for reading comics. When the electricity would go or we'd be stuck at home, for long hours, unable to go anywhere, we'd dive into the imaginative worlds created by the likes of Walter Simonson, Chris Claremont, Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen, Ann Nocenti, Peter David and so many others.Eventually, we moved back to the US and started going to comic book stores to fill in our back issues and countlessly reread these rich and exciting stories. That was my inspiration for taking Simonson's epic story of how Surtur shattered the Rainbow Bridge between Asgard, home of the gods and Earth, leaving Thor, always caught between worlds, unable to be there when he was needed most. Those were great times in comics. Stories would develop over many years as writers and artists who had grown up reading comics and consuming literature and fine art brought a deeper sensibility to iconic characters. Thank you. 

Elephants with Guns live at Sounds and Vision

Went to see my friends Elephants with Guns at Sounds and Vision, presented by Cannibal Flower and Venice Grind. Great show, and as always LC put together an amazing mix of pieces in the gallery, live paintings, DJing and live music. I managed a sketch of the band.

elephants with guns at sounds and vision

Feeroozeh Golmohammadi - Rumi's The Merchant and the Parrot

In putting together an iPad graphic novel adaptation of my short film "Gul", I looked at many books for inspiration on page layouts. I tried a lot of different ideas, but none seemed to work, until I happened upon Feeroozeh Golmohammadi's adaptation of Rumi's "The Merchant and the Parrot." The book is absolutely beautiful. Her watercolors and the design of it really struck me. A simplified version of the typography and design in this book influenced how I designed the text for my graphic novel as you can see with the pages from her book and then a few from my graphic novel. Read Rumi's "The Merchant and the Parrot" here.

Red Baraat and La Chamba at FIGat7th Downtown Festival

Joined lots of friends for Red Baraat and La Chamba live at FIGat7th in downtown Los Angeles. What an amazing show! Here are some watercolor sketches from the performance. These ones were painted straight to paper without any pencils, which is fun. The first is of La Chamba and the second is of members of Red Baraat.

la chamba watercolor figat7th

red baraat watercolor figat7th

Yemen Blues at the Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park

After an important protest in solidarity with Trayvon Martin and the inequality of justice as applied particularly to African Americans in the US, I head over to the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park for a beautiful concert by Yemen Blues. It made me feel great to hear music from all over played and enjoyed by people of all races, as a reminder, that things can be better.

Yemen Blues live at the Levitt Pavilion

Yemen Blues live at the Levitt Pavilion

Las Cafateras at Grand Performances

Hopped on the metro and caught a great noon show by Las Cafateras at Grand Performances. Here's a sketch I created during their performance.

Las Cafaterias at Grand Performances

Metalachi at Levitt Pavilion Macarthur Park

Enjoyed a fun show by Metalachi at Levitt Pavilion in Macarthur Park. They play mariachi metal, and it is really a lot of fun. I managed some sketches of the larger than life musicians. Good times.

Metalachi at Levitt Pavilion Macarthur Park

Adunni and Nefertiti and Martha Redbone at Grand Performances

Dropped by Grand Performances to see Adunni and Neferetiti and Martha Redbone for another show and some painting on saturday. It got a bit cold, so I only stayed through the first two acts, missing Dessy Di Lauro, but it was fantastic. Adunni and Nefertiti came out for a soundcheck about before the show, and immediately they were captivating. Their voices, merged into one along with drumming was mesmerizing. Redbone with their steel guitar, banjo, vocals etc were so full of energy and fun. Here are sketches I made at the show.

Adunni and Nefertiti at Grand Performances watercolor sketch

Martha Redbone at Grand Performances watercolor sketch

Nina Simone Tribute at Grand Performances

I went to a beautiful free concert at Grand Performances in tribute to Nina Simone. It was a great night of classic Nina Simone songs played by a great group of musicians. The entire area was packed with people. My friend and I walked all around to find a good spot throughout the show, and eventually settled on standing with a view of behind the stage. It was actually a good spot, considering the place was so packed. It was an interesting way to enjoy the show. It was from there that I put this little sketch together.

Sketch I created at the show from behind the stage.

Islamic Calligraphy: An Introduction by Aslam Kamal

It was among a stack of dusty books that I lucked out and found Aslam Kamal's Islamic Calligraphy: An Introduction. A few years ago, I was visiting book stores in Lahore as I love to do. Besides newer books, there are lots of treasures to be found in piles of old books. Often, that is where I learn about interesting artists and stories. Art books in Pakistan have very limited print runs as the audience of those who can afford art books and appreciate them is a small one.The book has a good deal of variety when it comes to calligraphy in Arabic script and more. There are pages with ancient examples from earlier forms of Arabic writing in the Quran, to exquisite pieces throughout the ages. Of particular interest to me were the pieces by Sadequain, one of Pakistan's most celebrated artists as well as the beautiful juxtaposition of architecture and calligraphy in the work of Aslam Kamal, the author of the book as well as an incredible artist himself.

Aslam Kamal Islamic Khatati Calligraphy Introduction Book Cover

Aslam Kamal Islamic Khatati Calligraphy Introduction

Aslam Kamal Islamic Khatati Calligraphy Introduction Book. Sadequain art.

It was with this inspiration that I did a series of sketches to come up with a title logo for my short film Gul.

Gul logo sketchbook page

Gul logo sketchbook page

Gul logo sketchbook page

Gul film title logo black

Gul film title logo photoshop

Gul Logo

Animated painted test for the Gul logo.

Malathi Iyengar's Love Trajectory at Grand Performances

I went and Malathi Iyengar's "Love Trajectory" at Grand Performances. Here are some sketches from the night.

Beat Swap Meet

I took my prints to Beat Swap Meet, in one of my favorite parts of LA, Chinatown. There was DJing, vendors, lots of records for sale and breakdancing! It was really fun to share my art with people, and groove to some beats. 

Fishtank Ensemble at the Levitt Pavilion

I went over to join the wonderful folks from Art Division, who were creating a community mural. It was fun drawing with artists from Art Division and with them, encouraging little kids to join the fun. Afterwards, I watched Fishtank Ensemble perform at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park. Summer has begun!

Fishtank Ensemble painted live at the Levitt Pavilion

Fishtank Ensemble painted live at the Levitt Pavilion

Downtown Artwalk - Art Mart

I had a great time at the Los Angeles Art Mart, in the beautiful Los Angeles Theatre building, part of the Downtown Artwalk. It was so much fun to connect people to my work and be around so many other creative vendors. Thanks for all the great conversations and support!

2D Animation dead? I don't think so.

I'm writing this in response to reading Nik Ranieri's post regarding being let go from Disney Feature Animation after almost 25 years. This is after he created this beautiful performance:Over the years, there has been a lot of talk in the animation industry regarding the death of 2D animation. While many U.S. based feature animation studios have turned away from it, I don't see it dying. This is the same industry that is also throwing out 3D animation jobs or making them so miserable that one must choose between misery in employment or stressful unemployment. Yet I see a lot of the most innovative work in 2D or 3D being done well outside of these companies. Visual Effects aside, I really don't think the most creative and innovative work is being done at larger studios.Below are just a few examples of 2D animation that is excitingly inventive and fresh with innovation.

Good Books - Metamorphosis from Buck on Vimeo.

KAIROS Trailer from Studio La Cachette on Vimeo.

Cartoon Network - Summer Ident FULL from eamonn o neill on Vimeo.

So no, 2D is not dead. Unfortunately, that does not make it any less frightening or difficult for skilled artists who have devoted their lives to this craft to find work that can compensate them.

Good times at Cannibal Flower

I've always enjoyed going to Cannibal Flower, showcasing art and being a vendor there. It's always a great mix of diverse art, music and fun people. I took some of my new prints and Gul and Girnari Jogi CD/DVD combos to the show last night and met lots of great people and got to see the band Snow in Africa live. Good times indeed.

Prints, CDs and DVDs by Mad Guru at Cannibal Flower

Juan Tomas dropped by and picked up a Girnari Jogi CD/DVD combo to support these wonderful Pakistani musicians at the Mad Guru table at Cannibal Flower.

Snow in Africa at Cannibal Flower

Snow in Africa

Cannibal Flower June 2013

Tak, Jamie, Caroline and Bhavan supporting at Cannibal Flower with a Gul DVD from Mad Guru

Alan Broadbent - Heart to Heart Album Cover

Two time Grammy winner, Jazz pianist and composer Alan Broadbent's new solo piano album "Heart to Heart" is out now, featuring a watercolor sketch of mine on the cover. I painted it live at the Catalina Jazz Club during a performance by the Charlie Haden Quartet.

Alan Broadbent album cover album - "Heart to Heart"

Purchase a print of the cover art - Purchase the album from Amazon - CD Baby - Google Play - iTunesThe album features these tracks played solo by Alan:1. "Hello my Lovely" by Charlie Haden2. "Heart to Heart" by Alan Broadbent3. "Alone Together" by Arthur Shwartz4. "Now and Then" by Alan Broadbent5. "Journey Home" by Alan Broadbent6. "Blue in Green" by Miles Davis and Bill Evans7. "Love is the Thing" by Alan Broadbent8. "Lonely Woman" by Ornette Coleman9. "Cherokee" by Ray NoblePurchase a print of the cover art - Purchase the album from Amazon - CD Baby - Google Play - iTunes

Ray Harryhausen Tribute

Tribute to an animation and cinema pioneer, Ray Harryhausen. In remembrance, a video compilation of his work.