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.

Hail the zim-dolla, lets spray green!

Spray painting to start 2014. 

I haven't done much  sketching lately, just been finally moving and settling down in Zim, closing my time and work in Mozambique and hop, here I am in front of a big, huge blank page in Harare, with my wife and kids, and family. 

I am looking for jobs, the kind that brings trillions of zim dollars in. So in the meanwhile, I used my sprays and stencilled this portrait of Gaylo and Forrie. Lots of cutting and preparation for the quick pshit- pshits. 

Speaking of zim, there were rumors that we would have the opportunity to use a renewed version of the zim dollar, which if it was true would have probably made me brazillionaire this year. Then the idea faded away. Our comrades managing the country probably did not only see the great comotion the news created, but they understood better the great labour of the masses, who, tirelessly,  day to day, indegenise the american green buck and therefor litteraly spit and piss on the illegal economical sanctions the country suffers from the anglo-saxons.
I somehow could not explain the revolutionary and symbolic aspect of the currency to the waiter at the cairo airport, who choosed not to greet the zimbabwean-USD with a smile. I need more convincing powers.  
I say zim-dolla rule.