Happy Elephant

Upon drawing this happy elephant, I realized that it required some movement. Then this happened:

Pokin' Around

Happy Halloween

Sunny Sunday

Backyard patio of a cafe in Bloor West Village.

The Embedded Majesty

From the wooden railing of my patio, this majestic elephant that stares at me.

A Dowling House

Although Toronto is comparatively a small city, she has packed in her many different neighbourhoods. One very interesting one being PARKDALE.

Brimming with Tibetan/ Indian food joints, hipster bars, hidden patios, outreach and community centres, cafes, cockroaches, immigrants, druggies and hobos, Parkdale is a flavour-filled area of contrasts. The rent's cheap, and the houses are old, big and beautiful!

This is one on Dowling Avenue.

New Header: Laddu-Land

Overhearing Conversations

Two nice old ladies met on the bus for the first time, and they talked for hours on end- one more than the other.

Clarification: She was actually talking about white foods- as in white rice, white sugar etc. Amazing how inappropriate things sound when taken out of context.

Sunny Sunflower

My sister says I should have been a sunflower...

Crammed and Cramming

In Columbia, MO- A university town filled with young, promising, twinkly eyed undergrads. It was finals week last week, and everyone seemed to be in the campus library.

Improv!

It all started on a dark winter afternoon. I wanted to take a course in something, and chanced a glance at improv classes.

Theater? Acting?  MICHAEL SCOTT WITH A GUN??

This was all that I associated Improv with.

Just the idea seemed very alien and scary.
So I dove in, and did it.
Improv classes at Bad Dog Theatre Co.
Turned out to be a very good decision.

An 8-Giraffe Man and Guy at Bus Stop: Sully and Jimmy

In one class we did an exercise which involved incorporating an animal's mannerisms into our own character, from a range of 1 to 10, (1 being ourselves, and 10 the animal).  The overall setup may be simple, but the animal factor creates an interesting dynamic, bringing the scenario to a whole new level!

This scene, played by classmates Sully and Jimmy, turned out really well, and I was inspired to draw it like in a children's book. So I took out a couple of books from the library, and merged their illustration styles to make this.

After taking improv classes, I now associate it with:
Theater, Acting, Michael Scott with a gun...
and A- WHOLE- LOT- OF- FUN!

An awesome teacher and enthusiastic bunch of classmates made for a fantastic experience.
From these classes, I learnt tips, tricks and techniques for character acting, cooky story telling and EVERYTHING ELSE IN LIFE.

If you have the option for taking up improv in your city, DO IT!

A Pot of Gold

Instead of pretending to work after a big sleep-inducing meal, I spent the afternoon in my sunshine-filled room, catching up with an old pal.  

Hanging out with a friend 

on the internet,

basking in a pot of gold.

A Frown, Washed and Uncombed

Self portrait on a rainy afternoon

Sweaty Summer Itch

Thought I'd improvise on this doodle I found:

The colours and mood were inspired by the soon-to-come season of beaches, bright jewels and blazing sunshine a.k.a SUMMER.

Soon, all the leaves will be green, and our hair soaked in sweat.

Ek Khidki-A Window

Here are some designs from this little project!

The entire process from concept to finish felt like a sewing project- picking and choosing different locations, character situations, fabric and music, and tailoring them together.

And here are some ladies...

Some concept designs

These are some colour tests, background and character designs I did. It was supposed to be for a short animated commercial on winter sports.

 

New york II- Dense city air

Summer in NYC is packed with people, and things to do-- live music, book readings, food, parks, plays and parades.

It was hard not to make constant references to films. Delving into the "New York culture" was a dreamy reality. Be it an NYPD cop car, the historic bridges, tiny statue of liberty (from a distance), the massive empire state building or little brick houses- I'd find myself stopped in the middle of a street, thinking, "Damn I'm in New York..."

Its not always exciting though. I once walked in, with high expectations, to a talk related to food. Granted, it was nearing the end, but the energy was very low- hovering around 1 or 2 in a scale of 100- and most of the sparse audience was asleep.

 At the Manhattan Mid-Town Library

 For the most part, the city did not disappoint. These are sketches from some of the music events I went to. 
 

First Friday Jazz Series- David Berkman 
at the Neighbourhood Church at Greenwich Village

Jazz Thursdays at the David Rubenstein Atrium 

I don't remember the name of this band, but their music was really cool, 

using many interesting instruments, long and short.

 Sussan Deyhim at The Standard

 Her vocals were arresting. The best part was a Moroccan singer (the one in the middle holding a guitar-like instrument) who accompanied her with a performance. His voice was so different from anything I've heard- soft, deep and full of power. The concert took place at a bar in the basement of a big Hotel. 

The event was free, yet the crowd elite- you don't see that often!

Lincoln Centre Out of Doors

 At a time, there was one musician and many instruments- some electronic, some acoustic. Accompanied by vocals, the sounds all came together, enveloping the big outdoor space and its inhabitants in an electric, electronic atmosphere! This paired very well with a glass of wine.

I also saw Devendra Banhart live, which was amazing!! The energy at the end of the concert was palpable. The audience summoned him back on stage with their incessant applause for an encore.

I managed to get into a summer stage event at central park, with Bobby McFerrin performing. Live music events are so much fun, especially with a good performer.

Big live concerts apart, I had the pleasure of witnessing a pretty awesome home basement performance...

"You do basic rhythm, I'll do rhythmic base." 

I leave you now with these...