a little moment

While finishing my coffee after breakfast this morning, I was given a moment to do a 7-minute-or-so sketch while my little bunting was entertained by the visiting buntings outside the window.

friday's sketch

Bad weather and a bad leg make for a great combination when all you really want to do is wrap yourself up in a blanket, pour some tea, play some good music, and draw. I had this little vial of shiny black powder that I bought at the medina a while ago, which the herbalist swore was kohl for the eyes, but I have my doubts. I thought I could use it for drawing, and while it gave me some nice warm greys, it left behind rough glittery particles that would not go away no matter what I did. In came the 8B graphite stick to punch up the value and save the day!

a midnight-ish self-portrait

I started drawing this sometime last night before midnight and finished the majority of the drawing around two in the morning. The orange background took a good part of today, as the book is pretty large (the portrait is a wee bit less than life-size)— a great way to spend a rainy Monday! It has been a wonderful thing rediscovering Caran D'Ache's Neocolor I wax pastels, something I loved playing with in college and had forgotten about until recently rummaging through Pedro's cache of art materials in Lisbon.

saturday

a museum to sketch

The first museum we visited was the Arheološki Muzej u Zagreb, one of the finest archaeological museums I have ever visited. The building was unassuming, but the displays, from lighting to the colour of the walls, were stunning. There was something for everyone: Neolithic figurines, Ancient Greek and Roman artifacts, Ancient Egyptian canopic jars, and a mysterious Etruscan mummy. If I had all weekend to spend in the museum alone, I'd try and sketch the whole collection.



As we entered the Egyptian Collection, a television crew of three came out from around a sarcophagus with a camera pointed in our direction. The museum had seemed empty until this point, and we must have looked like two deer caught in headlights, but the pretty lady with the microphone was reassuring, and politely asked if we would like to be interviewed for Croatian TV.

This is how we learned about Noć muzeja, or the Long Night of the Museums.



I have to follow this up with a second post, because that's how much I love this museum. If you're a jewellery enthusiast, get ready. Zagreb's Arheološki Muzej has a wonderful collection of ancient adornment.

sketches of istanbul protesters

Commentary to come soon, heading out to Gezi...

hello, venus

The auditorium was dark, and the white-headed professor was droning on and on about something my sleep deprived brain struggled to retain. I hung my head back to stare at the ceiling, trying to recall the bizarre dream I started to have last night, when my thought, like the dream, was interrupted. The slide had clicked to reveal a wonderfully rounded form— the very definition of round. A woman, head bowed, with enormous, pendulous breasts resting on a pillow of belly and hip. I was mesmerised.

The Venus of Willendorf.

I was obsessed. I drew her thighs and rolls in the corners of my art history and philosophy papers. I memorised her curves. This 25,000 year old Paleolithic statuette enchanted me. I daydreamed of the moment she was discovered in the earth, of her voluptuous little body being carved by ancient hands and gazed upon by ancient eyes... and I dreamt of tracing the shapes of her shadows with my own eyes.

Fifteen years later, I found myself standing before her, breath stilled in my body.
I pulled out my sketchbook and pen, and drew by the light which bounced off her breasts.



I am so lucky, indeed.

art and laughter

Wandering around Istanbul with nine Italian sketchers for a weekend results in abdomens sore from laughter, tired feet, icicle fingers which struggle to hold pens and brushes, and one big, happiness. There is so much to say, so much I want to share about the last few days, but I am struggling to find the words. We feasted, we clinked glasses, we explored, we invented jokes, and we drew.

I am eternally grateful to Urban Sketchers for connecting me with so many wonderful people over the past three years. Grazie, Italian Sketchers— I'll see you in Rome one day!

Art and laughter.
You couldn't ask for much more.

Stay tuned for the sketches!

win a sketch!

With a massive sigh of some sort of sadness but no regret, I'm going with my gut and passing on Cairo. But! Being the travel-hungry girl that I am, I've already booked a ticket and room elsewhere. This city could not be further from Cairo in culture, climate, and cuisine.

I've decided to try something new here. I'm going to have a contest. Guess where I'm off to next, and you could win an original sketch from my little adventure. When I think of this city, I inevitably see images of violins, harpsichords, and powdered wigs in my mind. I've somehow never been to this fine nation, though I've been to five of the seven countries which surround it— two of which I have blogged about on Harika. I'll be needing a very warm coat, a hat, a scarf and gloves, as November there is quite cold. Thankfully, the plane ride is merely a hop from Istanbul.

If you can correctly guess the city where I am headed to in about two weeks, comment on this post with your answer and I'll put your name in one of my stylish hats, along with the names of other correct guessers. On November 9th, I'll draw the winner's name.

Good luck!