First days in Kinshasa

Well, I had to travel a bit and start a new field consultancy, so days have been a bit hectic. I did not really dare to scan and use my work time to upload, but now I found a connexion and took pictures of my sketches.
So here are the sketches of my journey from Harare to Kinshasa, airport and plane.

In the plane, for once I was next to a lovely lady, but i did kept a bit untalkative, I was sketching and she was sleeping. She did enjoy the drawing in the end and helped me talking thru a zealous immigration officer, the 3:am kind of one who suddently want you to open all your luggages. She said that he should be ashamed to bother zee aartist, hahahahaha.
Loved it.

We went to watch the Grand -finalee at the the german embassy, which had 2 big screens, I was in the middle of the 2, following the game and sketching the crowd, for the first 20 min. Then Argentina got a bit too close. So some people's expression are showing stressful expectation/ joy or dispear, depending who i was looking at and the phase of the game. The first 20 min is in this picture.  So are the remains of my first beer.

That is the street view from War Child's office where I have been working yesterday. On the left is the mighty Congo River. Today I could not find a moment, I was actually talking and holding meetings, which made it a bit tricky to say "sorry folks, you do understand that we take a break now, I have a smoke and a sketch urge". All the best were ever you are in the world.

Bob Ross, Picasso and Jim Henson for the road

Could not resist. For the amateurs, its not their best one, but its the most content-appropriate to this blog, could also have put the ninja turtles vs renaissance artists, but then...

Then came Jim Henson and he is right. Artwork by Gavin Aung Than @ zenpencils.com

Week in sketches

It has started, and I do quite enjoy being back to "skool", really feeling that I have to follow what a digital professer tels you to do, over the internet. It somehow pushes me to complete activities and get back to sketching in a bit more systematic way. Which is good. 

The first week of Sketch book skool was set under the tuition of Danny Gregory, and here under are the consequences of my week on paper. Two lessons for last week: 

- sketch something that is meaningfull for you, focus on the feelings it brings. 

- Sketch your day, journal your life and enjoy. 

 I am still struggling finding time to do so, and the distractions such as the world cup are not helping.  

Today is friday and I now am following the next lesson, its really fun. I think that the assignement for next week is : Draw Outside and Try colour pencils. 

Haha, and my challenge is that next week I am running a workshop, in Kinshasa.  First time I will go there.

So no way I can find "confortable" spots, places I am familiar with or people to come along on a sketchcrawl. Great challenge indeed. Will come back next week.

 

Sketchbook Skool

I am registered to attend the next semester of the Sketchbook Skool and it is quite exciting. It is starting tomorrow, yeah! It must have been at least 15 years since I took art classes, and I never followed anything online. So two good reasons, two new things!
My kids also are very thrilled, and have said that they will do as I do. It can only be good. I am really looking forward to hear from the teachers, the group, and have a bit of pressure in responding to my skechbook calls.

As well, the next worldwide sketchcrawl is happening on the 12th of July. If you want to send them the location where you'll spend the day sketching, do it here: http://www.sketchcrawl.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=71
On my side, I'll be between airports, travelling from Harare to Kinshasa.

So I'll post soon.

HIFA people 2014

Hifa was back, as usual, first week of may. We've seen great shows, Jamaram, Chef's special, the opening show, and a bunch of acrobats from australia, really good. This time no sketches about the shows, just some about the public. 

Cheers

my great moves online

I finally got some recognition for my dancing skills and am figuring in the Happy Harare version of Pharrell Williams's hit. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1CNgQhf8bA

It probably did help that my wife -urban space Harare- was organizing the video.
so the entire family joined in and now even my one year old sings Api Api Api.
Cannot be better!

Painting Oscar's room

Haven't really been sketching too much lately, a trip to Europe with one of my daughter and spending hours everyday kick-starting my business as a freelance consultant kept my mind occupied with many excuses not to pick up my pens and ink.
This WE I had a couple of days without anything urgent to write and I was a bit tired of looking for jobs, so, perfect opportunity to do a mural for my son. We have been talking about it since we moved in this house. His ideas went from a safari scene (as I did for Lil'), to a car chase, aliens and space-rockets, dinosaurs, sharks and fishes under the sea, a T-rex fighting a lion, a castle under siege by trolls and hornets, a star-war scene with light sabre and the death star... many ideas, many great projects and awesome possibilities.
So when I took my paper and pencils, it was a bit tricky to put it all together.
I voluntarily couldn't put all the scenes on the pictures, for the simple reason that they all occured on the other side of the planets.
He likes it.
now my daughters are pressing me to start their room.
pink. purple, princesses, butterflies, unicorns, fairies, yep.