4/17/14 4/17/14

San Jacinto Mountains watercolor

San Jacinto Mountains watercolor sketch

After a short trip to Joshua Tree we head up to the San Jacinto Mountains and I managed this small watercolor sketch.

4/2/14 4/2/14

Elephants with Guns at Tuesday Night Cafe

Watercolor sketches form Tuesday Night Cafe Elephants with Guns performance.

I went to the season opener for the Tuesday Night Cafe in Downtown Los Angeles last night. As usual, there was great community and talent on display. Here are a few sketches I did while my friends Elephants with Guns performed.

3/29/14 3/29/14

Grand Park's Downtown Bookfest watercolors

Grand Park's Downtown Bookfest watercolors with Writ Large Press, Gia Scott-Heron, One for the Road in Little Tokyo and more.

I enjoyed Grand Park's Downtown Bookfest today with friends. There were all kinds of hands on writing, art and book making activities, a well curated selection of books from various publishers courtesy of Writ Large Press, as well as panels, poets and musicians. I managed a quick sketch of Gia Scott-Heron, talented poet and daughter of the great Gil Scott Heron, though I enjoyed pieces by several poets, including David Kipen's piece on Union Station and Bill Burgos' piece on classical music on the bus in Los Angeles. Beautiful images were created with words, set to improvised music, by a talented band. I picked up a handful of comics by a variety of artists with fresh styles and interesting points of view. I'm sure the inspiration will seep into my own comics. Afterwards I walked around Little Tokyo, and ended the night with some music in the courtyard by a band called One for the Road. Just another beautiful day in Los Angeles. Thank you.

3/10/14 3/10/14

ISWO International Sindhi Women Organization Dinner

My friend Rosie told me about the International Sindhi Women Organization Dinner, as she was one of the Sindhi women speaking about her career there. It was great to see a community come together from both Pakistan and India, of various faiths to raise funds to help refugee families fleeing from growing religious persecution in Pakistan, who find themselves stuck in a sort of no man's land in the desert of Rajasthan.There were great examples of diverse Sindhi women in diverse careers, providing inspiration. In addition there was a dance and music performance by Meena Makhijani. Here are a sketch of her and her father sharing Sindhi music.I hope to connect with the community further and support their good work as well as help to promote the Girnari Jogi Group, who are wonderful Sindhi musicians I have had the privelage to work with on my film "Gul" as well as on the crowd funded album I put together for them after their homes were destroyed by floods. Watch the video below for a sample of their beautiful music and consider purchasing to CD/DVD combo to support their livelihood. Without support for their art it will disappear.

Girnari Jogi Group 01 Raag Malkauns from Adnan Hussain on Vimeo.

2/28/14 2/28/14

Shivratri at the Malibu Temple with Shakti Bharat Natyam

I joined some friends in enjoying Shivrartri at the Malibu Temple, featuring a beautiful offering of a Bharata Natyam performance by the Shakti School, featuring my friend Akhila.It is inspiring to see the dedication of these students of all ages performing with such poise, delicacy, grace and fierceness. I enjoyed this window into a tradition that has evolved over centuries, and today these dancers from Los Angeles, are still connected to dance forms practiced in Temples centuries ago.It's tough to capture poses in such quick movement, but I did manage some watercolor sketches, and an attempt to capture the energy they shared.

shivratri, shakti dance, bharata natyam, malibu temple

12/4/13 12/4/13

Devi Fair at Witzend Sketches

Devi Fair at Witzend Sketches of amazing musicians

I went to a great music show called Devi Fair, at the Witzend. The lineup was incredible, and I ran out of paper before the last two acts went on, so I didn't get a chance to sketch them. Here are some sketches of Manisha Shahane, Dawn Norfleet, Avari, Pranidhi Varshi, Clinton Patterson, Sheela Bringi, Neelamjit Dhillon and Ben Shepard. I didn't get a chance to sketch Bhavana Reddy or Sheela Govindarajan, but do check out their beautiful music too.

11/30/13 11/30/13

Amjad Sabri Qawwali in Los Angeles

I went to a concert of Amjad Sabri, performing qawwali with his group in Los Angeles. Here are some watercolor sketches from during the performance.

Amjad Sabri Qawwal Party performing in Los Angeles

11/13/13 11/13/13

Falu at Hotel Cafe

Watercolor sketches of Falu performing at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.

I hadn't seen Falu perform since I first saw them back in 2006 at Artwallah. I knew I couldn't miss a chance to see the band perform right here in Los Angeles at the Hotel Cafe. Here are some sketches from an amazing show.

Falu performing at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles

10/12/13 10/12/13

Totally Radical Muslims Zine Release LA

Totally Radical Muslims Zine Release LA watercolor sketches

Last night I enjoyed painting at the Totally Radical Muslims Zine launch at the Last Bookstore in Los Angeles thanks to Taz Ahmed and Writ Large Press. It was a release for the second issue of the zine, entitled "Voices of Fired Resistance." It featured stories by diverse muslims. The night featured a great lineup of poetry, prose, music and dance, and challenged ideas of what constitutes a muslim. I'm proud of the reclamation of identity, and the adjustment to what it means to be totally radical. I hate the term Islamist, as it brands the madness propagated by horrible people on both sides of a disgusting war as being representative of over a billion muslims worldwide. We are a diverse group of individuals from different cultural backgrounds, varying interpretations of religious values and various gender identities and orientations. Let no one else define us, but ourselves. Thanks to Taz for hosting and inviting me to take part. These were very quick sketches, during a succession of inspiring, short performances.

Radical Muslim Zine Zehra Fazal and Saba Waheed — Zehra Fazal and Saba Waheed

radical_muslim_zine002_pia_ahmed_meymuna_hussain_cattan_web — Pia Ahmed Meymuna Hussain Cattan

radical_muslim_zine003_asma_men_sasha_ali_web — Asma Men and Sasha Ali

radical_muslim_zine004_taz_ahmed_amir_abdullah_web — Taz Ahmed and Amir Abdullah

radical_muslim_zine005_saleem_nasia_anam_web — Saleem and Nasia Anam

radical_muslim_zine006_alicia_virani_naazneen_diwan_web — Alicia Virani and Naazneen Diwan

radical_muslim_zine007_maya_jafer_web — Maya Jafer

Thanks to Zehra Fazal, Saba Waheed, Pia Ahmed, Meymuna Hussain Cattan, Asma Men, Sasha Ali, Taz Ahmed, Amir Abdullah, Saleem, Nasia Anam, Alicia Virani, Naazneen Diwan and Maya Jafer.

10/9/13 10/9/13

Novi Maleševski Zurli at Discostan

Novi Maleševski Zurli at Discostan watercolor sketch

I had the pleasure of seeing Novi Maleševski Zurli (Milo Destanovski and Jessica Ruiz on zurla and Dominique Rodriguez on Tapan) live at Discostan along with some of my favorite DJs playing some of the most diverse music from around the world. Their sound reminded me of the murli played by Jairam Jogi.

9/24/13 9/24/13

Gonzalo Bergara Quartet at the Blue Whale

Watercolor sketches of Gonzalo Bergara Quartet at the Blue Whale

Went to see some the incredible Gonzalo Bergara Quartet at the Blue Whale in downtown Los Angeles with a few friends. Here are some sketches I painted during the first half of their set.

9/19/13 9/19/13

Whalesound at Crossroads Sam Francis Gallery

Whalesound at Crossroads Sam Francis Gallery watercolor sketches

I went to see my friend Whalesound perform at the Sam Francis Gallery at the Crossroads school. It was the gallery opening for an exhibition curated by Christine Nguyen of Sea Moon She called "Relative Dimensions" with work by Deborah Aschheim, Matthew Brandt and Christine Nguyen. I managed a few sketches of Whalesound performing with Varuna on tabla.

9/18/13 9/18/13

Whalesound Intimate Sea Album Cover

The process of making album artwork for Whalesound.

My friend Azeem Khan is a talented musician, working under the name Whalesound. He came to me with a concept for his album "Intimate Sea", that I made into this album cover for him. Below you can see pencil sketches and some watercolors I did for the piece as well as the artwork on the cd itself.

whalesound album cover sketches — sketches

whalesound album cover drawing — cover drawing

whalesound album cover watercolor study — watercolor study

9/4/13 9/4/13

Tarek Yamani at the Blue Whale

Tarek Yamani, solo piano performance at the Blue Whale, watercolor sketches.

I went to see Tarek Yamani's solo piano performance at the Blue Whale. There's something special about being lost in music, and letting the brush flow. These are some watercolor sketches, before and during the performance.

8/18/13 8/18/13

Eid Festival Anaheim 2013

Enjoyed some food, friends, family, games and music at the Eid Festival 2013 in Anaheim.

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.

7/21/13 7/21/13

Elephants with Guns live at Sounds and Vision

Watercolor sketch of Elephants with Guns at Sounds and Vision, presented by Cannibal Flower and Venice Grind.

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.

7/19/13 7/19/13

Feeroozeh Golmohammadi - Rumi's The Merchant and the Parrot

Feeroozeh Golmohammadi - Rumi's The Merchant and the Parrot. A beautiful watercolor adaptation.

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.

7/19/13 7/19/13

Red Baraat and La Chamba at FIGat7th Downtown Festival

Red Baraat and La Chamba at FIGat7th Downtown Festival Watercolor Sketches

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.

7/14/13 7/14/13

Yemen Blues at the Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park

Watercolor sketches painted live of 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.