two drawings when i’m supposed to be cleaning my home } one filmed and the other not
Posted on June 18, 2012 1 Comment
this is the one i filmed. initially i meant to make just one drawing that i would video. when i thought i was done with that one, to my horror, i hadn’t pressed the record button on my phone. so i did another sketch. this one
this is the one i thought i shot. it was very frustrating trying to draw and film at the same time. i need an assistant. where are my kids when i need them
color pencils, pens, carbon and graph tracing paper } this is what happens
Posted on June 17, 2012 Leave a Comment
As you all know, I like to play. And this is what I do when you give me a set of colored pencils, carbon sheets and tracing graph paper. Read More
amira behbehani’s ‘the cave in realizatioin’
Posted on June 17, 2012 Leave a Comment
this reminds me of one of those modernist homes you’d stumble upon in a forest (this would possibly be the forest of my dreams)
I’m kicking myself for not going to the exhibition in which this piece by Kuwaiti artist Amira Behbehani was displayed. I don’t know, sometimes I just don’t pay enough attention to what’s going on around me. Because when I was flipping through the latest issue of B Journal and exclaimed how I couldn’t believe I missed this show, my lunch companion took great satisfaction in reminding me that he had told me about it. Such a shame. I would have liked to have seen this ‘live’. I’ve always liked Amira’s ink lines and I love the way the cold, steel structure compliments her drawings here. Plus there appears to be what looks like a camera lens. It’s a curious piece, one I would have liked to play with.
in triplicate } the creation of unoriginal artwork #20
Posted on June 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
i didn’t go about in my usual method here with the carbon paper. i sort of went back and forth across four spreads, but only two look substantial enough to post here
i love drawing without thinking. and it’s so easy to do with carbon paper and a set of colored pencils
press } jareedat alfunoon
Posted on June 14, 2012 Leave a Comment
In this month’s issue of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters journal Jareedat AlFunoon. Read More
in triplicate } the creation of unoriginal artwork #s 16, 17 and a small chunk of 18
Posted on June 12, 2012 Leave a Comment
rainbow face, the original, using my newly befriended eco-friendly multi-colored pencils and ballpoint pen
Saturday Gallery Hop
Posted on June 9, 2012 Leave a Comment
nadia al foudery’s ‘savage donkey’ at the sultan gallery
I enjoyed a solitary game of gallery musical chairs this morning (ok one was Wednesday afternoon). I like galleries that open on the weekend because Saturday’s a day I often wonder what to do. So visiting an art gallery is as ideal as it gets.
beirut 2 at cap
reza doust at fa gallery
in triplicate } the creation of unoriginal artwork #15 } the teal sisters
Posted on June 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
the teal sisters original using pencil and a hotel pen (the regency in new york)
the teal sisters in duplicate, folded blue carbon paper
the teal sisters in triplicate, folded black carbon paper
museum of manufactured response to absence } intervention at the modern museum of modern art
Posted on June 4, 2012 Leave a Comment
when entering, the ‘museum’ is rather unsuspicious looking. but upon closer inspection of the objects on display, a more sinister message is revealed
Finally. Kuwait’s Museum of Modern Art holds an exhibition befitting its name (don’t get me wrong, the National Council has wonderful works of arts, but is, unfortunately, poorly curated). I heard about the exhibition Museum of Manufactured Response to Absence: Intervention at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMRtA) months ago and have, since then, been guessing at what would be on display. After inquiring about it, key words that stuck in my mind were ‘exodus’, ‘influx’, ‘in’ and ‘out’. But the most important one, and the one that I personally rue the most: education. If you ask any educated Kuwaiti aged 50 or above, a general consensus will be reached that in this part of the world the Palestinians are the best educators. And so many of that generation lament the fact that these teachers left during the ‘second exodus’, a sentiment so pithily pointed out in MoMRtA. The fact that this exhibition exists is a feat in itself. It deals with a sensitive topic, but one that has been implemented with style, dignity and wit.
MoMRtA features works by Kamel Abu Yahya, Mohamed Abusal, May Batt, Pieke Bergmans, Bilal Chrif, Cevdet Erek, Bruno Fantoni, Khalid Al Harban, Mohssin Harraki, Zyad Hilal, Raed Ibrahim, Hakim Jamain, Bengu Karaduman, Rebecca Joselyn, Katharine Morling, Paul Ribolotti, Amin Tbakhi,George Vlosich, Khadijeh Yosef, and Nabeel Younis. It was curated by Ala Younis.
The exhibition is up until July 11th at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters’ Modern Art Museum in Sharq. Opening hours are Sunday-Thursday 9am-1pm and 5-8 pm. Read More
how appropriate!
Posted on June 3, 2012 Leave a Comment
there i am on the left hand side!
My illustrations are featured in this month’s issue of Bitch Magazine. I’ll share once I get my hard copy.
new sketchbook } learning how to draw all over again
Posted on May 27, 2012 6 Comments
There’s something very refreshing about going back to the basics. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to rely on life rather than my imagination to draw. Struggling to figure out how shadows fall and light hits is mentally exhausting. So when I saw some sketchbook photos of various Instagrammers over the past few months, I was completely inspired to buy a sketchbook and ‘start anew’. The inspiration for this book came initially from Juriko Kosaka and Thuraya Lynn. The way they effortlessly sketch furniture and other architectural forms in their sketchbooks made me realize how rusty I have become (I draw shitty sofas and beds) and how much I’ve got to learn. My latest inspiration (and the one that got me running to Maghawi stationary store to purchase yet another sketchbook) came from Waleed Shaalan. His photos of him using watercolor in a cheap spiral sketchbook reminded me of the pleasure I got when I used poster paints in one of my sketchbooks years and years ago. The crinkle of the paper, the smell of dry paint, the architectural forms that I need to acquaint myself with and eventually perfect.
what would you take?
Posted on May 24, 2012 Leave a Comment
crossword puzzle, planning and sketchbooks are a must. as is my pencil/pen case. a clipboard always comes in handy too for writing letters to the non-desert islanders
I’m sure we’ve all been asked this question at one point in our lives: if you were to be stuck on a desert island, what would you take with you? I was sort of in the urban version of that situation this morning: a friend, who is moving and needed to be at work, asked me if I could house sit while the movers packed her belongings. We estimated that I would need to be at hers for three to four hours. So I packed my emergency kit and voluntarily drove to my desert island in the city. The ultimate survivor.
dar.nur } a visit
Posted on May 22, 2012 Leave a Comment
my sister and i paid a visit to dar.nur yesterday. this is my first visit since noor alzabin relocated her store to lilly center in shuwaikh. this is my favorite location of the three (the store was located in the same center originally but this time overlooking the courtyard)
Portrait of Bianca Simonian
Posted on May 21, 2012 2 Comments
About two months ago, my friend and Early Bird restaurateur Bianca Simonian approached me to paint a portrait of her as a gift to her mother, which I thought was a lovely idea. I was really excited because Bianca has one of those striking faces that in my opinion any artist would love to paint/draw/photograph/etc. I started the painting two weeks ago and I’m finally happy with it. I’m glad to say that mommy loves it too! Read More
in triplicate } the creation of unoriginal artwork #13 with remnants of #12 which i haven’t posted because it’s shit
Posted on May 20, 2012 5 Comments
the original and number 12 on the left. the reason i mention number 12 will be evident when you look at the triplicate, black and white version of this drawing
this is the first time i use my new blue carbon paper. i’m so in love with the color, very pleasantly happy!
and here we see the traces of number 12 coming through. i should keep my accidental effects just that: accidental. i’m always thinking that i’ve discovered a new technique and that i can take advantage of this serendipitous event. but once i gain control, the exercise becomes futile. it must remain unlooked-for
rawiya } the other resurrection
Posted on May 16, 2012 Leave a Comment
I got a sneak peek this morning at CAP’s exhibition The Other Resurrection, a collection of photos by the Rawiya collective, a group of six Arab and Irani female photographers with a story to tell: Dalia Khamissy, Laura Boushnak, Myriam Abdelaziz, Newsha Tobakolian, Tamara Abdel Hadi and Tanya Habjouka.
Go to capkuwait.com for details.
Like voyeurs, we peep at Tamara’s sensuous Arab men.
Abed and Laura go over last minute details.
Laura’s ladies and their penmanship on the left and Tamara’s Palestinian man on the right. An edition of Laura’s photos presented here has been acquired by the British Museum.
out of britain } teaser #2
Posted on May 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
This is the second Out of Britain exhibition teaser by MazajEntertainment, featuring installation artist Hamad Khalaf.
prettygreenbullet 