reflections & intentions

5 times a day . 2012

i was honored to be asked by art dubai to contribute a post for their ramadan special on their blog. i came up with the illustration above & the short write-up found below. to view the actual post, click here. 

"ramadan for me acts as a reminder to strive even harder to reach faithful bliss & become spiritually content. life’s distraction’s throughout the year unfortunately gets the best of me, pushing faith to a secondary & sometimes (dare say!) tertiary level! so when Ramadan knocks at our doors for its annual visit, i sit back & reflect over how i have treated life & what can be done better.

abstaining from food is the least of my woes during the holy month. Being a heavy eater was never really my thing to begin with! it’s abstaining from life’s other vices that are quite challenging. & with this year’s summer heat, jumping out of lazy mode is quite difficult. but i guess this is what it’s all about. figuring out solutions to daily woes.

For me, i think the most important thing is intention. during Ramadan, my actions reflect the good intentions i want to live by. in life, i think i’m generally a nice person (i hope!). But during Ramadan, i constantly keep myself in check & try not to step any inappropriate boundaries. simple tasks like breaking fast with the family, trips to the mosque, keeping track of the 5 daily prayers, giving to those in need, mean nothing if your intention is not genuine. so for the holy month, i choose to do these things & more, because i want to. And i hope to continue with the same intentions once ramadan is over."

i hope everyone had a pleasant ramadan & a great eid with family & loved ones.

lost in oz

lost in oz . 2012

i personally enjoy creating new original artworks for upcoming exhibitions. it keeps my creative juices flowing & helps improve my drawing skills.

i was asked to participate in the australian edition of 'crossing the line', where artist's from the middle east will showcase contemporary line drawings & artworks. i showed 'new direction' at the first edition held in dubai. i don't have the artwork anymore as it's been auctioned off for charitable purposes, which meant figuring out a new piece for australia.

i wanted to create something with the same visual aesthetic as 'new direction'. so i came up with the piece you see above, appropriately titled 'lost in oz'! there isn't much to explain, other then during the process, a lot of 'good' mistakes happened! the intention was to make the final piece look incomplete & minimal. so when the green overlay didn't completely print (was supposed to go across the page), i was actually satisfied with the error that occurred!

the exhibition will take place from the 14th july at the langford 120 gallery in melbourne, australia. stay tuned on the gallery's website for updates on the show...

summer is here...

creative summer . 2012

it's that time of year again, where the sun pays us long, hot visits & holiday is a mental state of mind! since summer already started here, it's time to take things easy & make the most of the beachy weather!

here's wishing all the krossbreed lovers a great summer. enjoy the break, always stay hydrated & make the most of it before it's gone.

have a creative summer folks...

rivers of the world part 3

river city . 2012

river culture . 2012

river of life . 2012

polluted river . 2012

resourceful river . 2012

working river . 2012

they're finally here!!! after 6 school workshops, 2 blog posts (see part 1 & part 2), scanning hundreds of children's artworks, & 3 months of intensive collaborative work with maie atabani, i finally present the final artworks created for the rivers of the world project. 

i'm really happy with the results & how each artwork is so different in character but still work as a set. i hope all the participants & organizers surrounding the project are pleased with the results as much as we are. i can't wait for the artworks to be displayed in my favorite city in the world, london, where dubai will be featured alongside other countries that have participated in this great project. i'm also quite curious to see how other submissions from around the world look. guess we'll find out in september!
a sentence or 2 on each of the individual artworks can be found below for those who would like to know more:
river city: student-made collages representing dubai's historical development & growth around the creek, which has grown ever since in the last 4 decades.
river culture: simple illustrations made by students to represent the daily findings & activities found around the creek.
river of life: water-colour paintings of the diverse habitat found around the creek, including birds & insects, compiled to create a dense, jungle-like final piece.
polluted river: student's inkblot prints composed to create a monster-like creature from the seas, reflecting the disadvantage of development, i.e. pollution.
resourceful river: the 'monty python' inspired piece! student's surreal collages of quirky & monstrous vehicles representing the creek as a mode of transport.
working river: stenciled imagery of dubai's labour force & other iconic imagery, representing the very crowded & busy creek as a centre for work & trade locally & internationally.

rivers of the world part 2

nad al hamar school workshop . 2012

nad al hamar school workshop . 2012

nad al hamar school workshop . 2012

al saeedeya school workshop . 2012

al saeedeya school workshop . 2012

al saeedeya school workshop . 2012

with march madness behind me, it's time to get back to working on the rivers of the world project. if you've seen my previous post, there were two more workshops left before heading on to the next phase of the project, which is creating the final artworks.

over the last few weeks, maie & i headed to the remaining two schools to complete all the workshops. at the schools, we offered workshops on painting with watercolour & creating graffiti pieces with stencils. i think the students really enjoyed it & results from the workshops were extremely good & creative.

now that the workshops are officially over, its time to start working on the final pieces. i'm really looking forward to working with maie on these & am excited about the final results. stay tuned, as always, for more updates on the project very soon...

sketching urban landscapes

karama . 2011

with march coming to a close, it's time to focus on new projects. i'd like to create a series of sketches/illustrations based on architectural landscapes & communities around the city. it's amazing how each area in dubai has it's own characteristics & visual aesthetics defining what type of area it is & the communities that live there. i started mapping out the area of karama through a series of photographs a year ago (view previous post krossbreed photography) & finally came up with this illustration shown above. it's taken me awhile to create an illustration based on the findings. but i'm quite happy with the final result & am motivated to go around town to explore & document new areas & have a series of architectural illustrations around dubai. from the new glizty high rise communities, to the run-down areas long forgotten, i'd like to have a series of illustrations representing each of these iconic areas that make up the city as a whole. & who knows; maybe these illustrations will find their way on future krossbreed products...

the good ghaf

the good ghaf 1 . 2012

the good ghaf 2 . 2012

the good ghaf 3 . 2012

the good ghaf 4 . 2012

here's another series of illustrations i worked on for a soon to be released publication honoring children's fables & stories from around the world. my previous drawings for the assigned story 'the boy who cried wolf' will unfortunately not be published, which is why i was approached to create new drawings for the emirati story titled 'the good ghaf'.

in short, the story is about a young shepherd girl called mariam who notices her dog baroot runs off in search of a sheep that's lost it's way. when following baroot, mariam gets lost in the desert wilderness away from her village, and hides under a ghaf tree from protection against the bad weather. eventually mariam finds the missing sheep, and runs back to her village, fearing a wild desert wolf might attack her along the way. once home, mariam is safe with her family and grandmother, who tells her stories about the good ghaf tree and how it is both 'a comfort and shelter for both man & beast'.

the visual interpretation of the story is very similar to my previous attempt mentioned earlier, focusing on the characters without literally interpreting the written text. i'm really looking forward to seeing these published in final book form to share with the rest of the world. i guess everything happens for a reason, & i'm happy to say i now have two solid works of illustrations for children's publications to add to my constantly expanding portfolio.