Save Vinay Marrow Donor Registration at the Red Wood and Amu

I went to a very special event at a bar called the Red Wood in downtown LA. It was a marrow donor registration drive to get more South Asians registered to help the many South Asians who have a 1 in 20,000 chance of finding a matching donor. Specifically, this event was for Vinay who has only a few weeks left in which time he needs to find a match. Please visit his site to learn more. Also, please register to become a potential marrow donor. I did so a while back. It's pretty simple. You fill out a few forms, give them some samples by swabbing the inside of your mouth and that's it. Minority races in particular have a really hard time finding matches, and the best way to help, is to register yourself. Please spread the word and check out the links in this post for further information. This is a very urgent need, in order to save lives. There are many drives coming up and you can arrange your own marrow drive as well.

I did a few sketches of the musicians who donated their time to support this effort. First were Anand Subramanian and Arthi Meera. I got a chance to draw their debut performance as Fair and Kind. I also drew two members of Karmacy as well as Ananda Sen and Sim Grewall. I didn't manage to sketch DJ Yashraj and a few other accompanying musicians this time around.

Earlier in the day I caught a screening of Shonali Bosi's film Amu. Without giving the story away, it follows a young Indian woman from Los Angeles' journey back to New Delhi, India, and what she learns about herself and the 1984 massacre of Sikhs. It shines a light on a horrible crime that has gone unpunished, and hopefully people won't be blind to the parallels in so many other incidents in every country.

I think she did an amazing job of taking us through Amu's self discovery and really presenting a story that explores many aspects of a very complex issue (not only the 1984 massacre, but people's reactions towards such incidents). It was not heavy handed or overly dramatized. It touched me very deeply, and expressed so many ideas in a way that I felt, instead of telling me what to think. Anyway, go check it out!

Black Crowes, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and

I went to see the at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood for "Guitar Center's King of the Blues Grand Finals." The grand finalists were amazing as were the headliners. Here are some sketches of Hubert Sumlin, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the Black Crowes. The sketches didn't turn out so great. I was pretty tired, but what an amazing show! I try to draw even when I'm a bit out of it, because, well these days I'm almost always a bit out of it, and I really want to get better...btw the Crowes site is really cool.

Wednesday Figures 3's and 5's

Gold ink and watercolors. Costume figure drawing with dynamic poses. Aww yeah.

Dengue Fever, Yohimbe Brothers and Ozomatli at Grand Performances

Summer has officially begun! I went to see an amazing show featuring Dengue Fever (first 3), Yohimbe Brothers (4 and 5)and Ozomatli (6). It was the first of the Grand Performances free summer concerts in downtown LA. Amazing music, sarcastic and sarcastically challenged friends and food. Yes, a great day indeed.

Figure Drawing

Gold ink, a few primary color watercolors with some black and a purple watercolor marker.

Niyaz at the Temple Bar

I went to see Niyaz at the Temple Bar last night. It's been a while since they played live here in LA so it was a real treat to see them again. There wasn't any elbow room to paint during their performance, but afterwards I did this simple sketch of people dancing to the dj spinning the night away.

Skateboarders

Since there was no life drawing class this week, I joined some friends from work at the local skate park. I like my neck, wrists and ankles, so I sat on one side and drew them, before running off for a mahi mahi burrito. Mmmm. I also sketched a tree while waiting in line for the magical burrito.

Les Nubians at the UCLA Jazz/Reggae Festival

I saw Les Nubians at the UCLA Jazz/Reggae Festival. This time I managed a couple of sketches of them from the side of the stage.

Washington Blvd

A little sketch from outside a restaurant on Washington Blvd.

Eric Kufs and Chelsea Williams

I saw Eric Kufs and Chelsea Williams perform on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica last weekend.

It's nice to get away from work a bit and sketch some music.

Wednesday Figures

I started with some marker sketches to warm up (the last few images), then went into some ink and watercolor. I used a gold colored ink that was really thick and didn't flow all that smooth. I get the feeling these dipping pens are not made for speed. It forces me to make cruder lines though, which is kind of interesting. Anyone have suggestions for more smooth flowing ways of using ink with varying thickness like dipping pen nibs(fountain pens are usually so thin)? Anyway, it was a really fun set.

Clare Means and Carlos Guitarlos

I saw Clare Means perform at the Third Street Promenade (first sketch) and then head over to Liquid Kitty to check out Carlos Guitarlos (second sketch). The third sketch is his bass player.

Spectrum Dance #24

I went to a performance called Spectrum Dance #24 at the El Portal Theatre. It is the 24th year of this dance show which features a variety of dance pieces by all different kinds of performers. Here are some sketches from the first night which I attended. It's interesting to see how people convey stories and emotions in different art forms. It's also quite surprising what types of movements people can do. I think it helps to not limit yourself as an animator to actions that you yourself can physically perform. Most of all it's just some great dynamic movement to try and appreciate and capture.

Figure Drawing and 7 things...

Here are some 3 and 5 minute marker figure drawings. I've tried to loosen them up a bit more than last week, by going straight marker, without laying down pencils. Also, Alina tagged me to post 7 things on any topic I want. So as a topic, I've chosen (in no particular order), "7 things to make the work day a little more interesting."

1. Pull up the online employee database (with photos) and draw funny pictures. And they thought their ID photos made them look bad...

2. Send "motivational" videos from YouTube out to your suffering comrades.

3. Sleep during meetings, but wake up as soon as your name is called for the second time, with hopefully the right answer.

4. Sneak up on co-workers who wear noise cancelling headphones.

5. Swap offices to escape flooding toilets and don't tell co-workers who need stuff from you, where you've moved. Let 'em figure it out.

6. Anonymously quote wisdom from co-workers in your email signature.

7. "Hide" co-workers' belongings in plain site. Wait. Watch. Laugh. Truthfully say you don't have it. Watch them find it on, under or beside their desk...quite unhidden.

Rupa and the April Fishes

I went to see Rupa and the April Fishes perform at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. The first three sketches are Rupa, Ed Baskerville and Marcus Cohen. Next up was Joshua James and then Priscilla Ahn with Gus Seyfrett. I didn't manage to sketch Rupa's drummer before the set was over. Nor did I manage to stick around for the final acts...must sleep to you know. It never ceases to amaze me as to how much talent there is in this town.

Pencil and Marker Figure Drawings

Switching mediums is always good. This week I used markers and pencil instead of ink and watercolors.

Eddie Vedder and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Hullabaloo

I went to an amazing, small show called Hullabaloo at the Henry Fonda theatre with performers like Eddie Vedder, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. It was a benefit for a great organization called the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music, which works to provide young musicians with music education and aids in purchasing instruments as well. It's a crime that the arts somehow don't play a part in public education anymore. It's too bad the country is so poor and has no money for such "frivolous" stuff. Being creative and challenging your mind is essential for anyone, whether they pursue a career in art or not. Not to mention, it is an amazing outlet for people to channel their aggresion, depression and to just stimulate the mind in general. It's great to see organizations like this one, fostering that creativity and talent. Some very good bands, consisting of kids from this program were among the opening acts. The last sketch is of one of these students. I was too packed in and jumping up and down to draw during Eddie Vedder's performance, but I wriggled out a little further when the Red Hot Chili Peppers went on and managed a few of them. Words can't describe how incredible it is to see musicians like this in such a small venue, only a few sardine packed rows from the stage.

Wednesday 3s and 5s

Here are this weeks life drawings.

Welcome to Persia

I needed to do some drawing after a rough week at work, so I went to the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and took in a performance called "Welcome to Persia." Here are some of Anna Djanbazian's dancers.

Wednesday 3s and 5s

I did these 3 and 5 minute sketches on Wednesday. I think I'm getting a bit more accustomed to the larger sized paper. Some are straight watercolors and others are a mix of ink, watercolor and a watercolor marker. This time I used some dark green non-waterproof ink and some waterproof yellow ink.