Kirtan

I enjoyed some beautiful Kirtan this morning thanks to a wonderful wedding celebration. Here's a pencil sketch of the Raagis performing. 

Naazneen Diwan at Tuesday Night Cafe

I did a few pencil sketches of some performers at the Tuesday Night Cafe in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Here are Mai-Thi Pham, my friend Nazneen Diwan and Johanna Chase.

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!

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.

Azad Pakistan

Happy Independence Day Pakistan! Here's a sketch from a few years ago of Mehr and Sher Ali, two famous Pakistan Qawwali singers that seemed appropriate for the day.A powerful piece of poetry, instilling a sense of duty and self sufficiency in a people in desperate need, as relevant today as when Mohammad Allama Iqbal wrote it in the 1930's, I give you Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's rendition of "Javed Nama". 

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

Hyderabad Musicians

 

  

Here are some Musicians I sketched in Hyderabad. I met them while searching for folk musicians for my short film "Gul" (flower).