Art of Music Night 3: Pakistan

Two weeks after the last Art of Music event, we held our third night time event in the series at the Levantine Cultural Center. This time, I focused on Pakistan. The story turned from traveling in countries and connecting to cultures I had never met before, to going home. I shared my short animated film Gul, featuring the music of the Girnari Jogi Group as well as the story behind both. I felt very grateful to have an opportunity to share the story of these fantastic Sindhi musicians across the globe for an audience that respected what they do and supported my efforts to benefit them. Once again, I met with many new faces and enjoyed the warm company of many old friends as well.My good friend Robin Sukhadia, Tablapusher kept the crowd going with his DJing and a live tabla performance in which he share the story of this beautiful instrument.

Art of Music Night 2: Uzbekistan and Mongolia

A week after opening night, we had our second event. This time we had Elephants with Guns perform a concert. The turn out at the Levantine Cultural Center was again amazing, and I shared stories of traveling through Uzbekistan and Mongolia. Jorge "Tyme" Martinez had put together some beautiful artwork for the Elephants. The t-shirt designs were amazing and everyone wanted one. It was so much fun meeting people and connecting to their stories as well as sharing some of the experience I had as a way of connecting people in LA to the people across the world in Uzbekistan and Mongolia.We even celebrated Jorge's and Medha's birthdays with more cake of course! 

Art of Music Night 1: Kyrgyzstan and Uyghurs of China

The Art of MusicIt has been a long journey to get to this point. I had painted 3 large paintings and 3 smaller live paintings before I pitched the idea for a gallery show on Central and South Asian music to Jordan of the Levantine Cultural Center back in Oct. 2012. He gave me the go ahead, and I began working on the rest of the 13 paintings for the show. The pieces included collaborations with Jorge "Tyme" Martinez, as well as 10 large paintings of music from 5 countries I visited while backpacking across Central and South Asia, connecting to people across language barriers through music.After much hard work painting, reaching out to local communities of the five cultures represented as well as other people interested in cultures and music, then getting the pieces framed by RA Custom Framing and then putting them up with the help of Jordan, Lila, Rima, Sahra and Kasmira at the Levantine Center, we were finally ready for the opening.We had our official gallery opening on Feb 2, 2013 and it went well beyond my wildest dreams. It was really heartwarming to see friends, family and all kinds of fans of art and music pack the Levantine Center's Inside/Outside gallery space, with Kyrgyz and Uyghur music playing in the background. It was a joy to share some of my friends and my experiences connecting to people in these beautiful cultures, and very rewarding to see people connect to it. Particularly hearing people's own experience in using art to connect with others on a deeper level was inspiring.   

Gaza

 

Rupa and the April Fishes at the Mint

I went and enjoyed a show by Rupa and the April Fishes at the Mint. Here are some sketches. The one at the end is of a band called Bubbelah, which was a lot of fun too. My friend Robin Sukhadia played tabla with Rupa and the April Fishes on a few songs.

Bubbeleh at the Mint

Robin Sukhadia

Safa Shokrai at the Mint

Rupa

EWG at Sofar LA

Thanks to Sofar LA I got to see some really talented bands at a generous fellow named Rocco's place which he opened up to some great musical acts in downtown Los Angeles. I managed a sketch during each short set by York, Tyler Lyle, Elephants with Guns and Chasing Kings.

EWG at Tuesday Night Cafe

I got to see my friends Elephants with Guns perform at the Tuesday Night Cafe, and managed this quick sketch.

Coastal Beauty

Stopped along the coastal highway to take in some of the breath taking beauty on the way to San Francisco. I managed this watercolor while being battered by the wind. My fingers were sore from holding on to the paper by the time I decided to leave, but it was worth it to stop off the highway, and hike down through thick shrubs and flowers to spend some time admiring nature.

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.

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!

Journey to Sindh

Earlier this month I added a 5 part writeup with galleries on each page, of my journey to Sindh back in the summer of 2008 to record music for my short film Gul(flower). What fascinates me about storytelling, is not just sitting in a room and creating art, but rather the process of connecting to people, enriching the story of your own life and then expressing something about it.Sindhi is a province in Pakistan, rich with culture, heritage and incredible people. The hot desert, delicious food, a strong connection to Sindhi language and heritage and beautiful, colorful traditional clothes and art make it a fascinating place.I hope to explore more of it someday, but you can get a glimpse of my travels and some of the things I saw in Hyderabad and Jamshoro here. 

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.

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:

Forgotten Musician

Sometimes I do a watercolor sketch and just forget about it. This is from a live music show, but I don't remember who and where.

Fair and Kind

Saw Fair and Kind perform in Chinatown in LA and knocked out some quick watercolor sketches.

Motel in Culver City

Went watercolor painting with my friend Terry and came up with this based on a motel in Culver City.

The Kominas and Sarmust in Los Angeles

So, I had a couple punk bands stay with me a few days while they were in town in LA. It was like an 11 person camp in the living room. Here are some sketches of the Kominas and Sarmust as they performed at Silver Factory Studios in downtown LA.