EDM #116 - Something Green (IF: Remember) Iguana

About 9 years of my childhood I spent in India, the last 5 of them in a city called Alwar. The climate there is quite dry as it lies on the border of the Thar Desert (which is the world's seventh largest desert and is without doubt the most inhospitable ecoregion in the Indo-Pacific region). The summer season in Alwar is very hot, the average temperature in the summers ranges up to 41° C (106° F).

So you can imagine what kind of animals and insects we had in our garden: chameleons, lizards, cobras, praying mantis, scorpions, lots of strange looking insects and thankfully also a family of mungos had settled in our sewer.
I remember that I was always fascinated by all of these (mainly brownish and greenish) animals but that they were always very strange and frightning to me too. I used to spend hours watching them in the summer heat but mostly at a "safe" distance.



This image shows a green iguana, which we didn´t have in our garden, but it reminded me of the chameleons.

BTW: This is my first drawing for Illustration Friday. I have been a member of that group for quite some time now, but never managed to submit an image before.

My daughter´s words 5

A (4 years old) sighing: "What a life!"
Me: "Why?"
A: "I like it."



Love her remarks. She keeps making me smile. :)

Bram Stoker´s Dracula

"The fair girl went on her knees and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal... I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the supersensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there."

Bram Stoker, Chapter 3, Dracula

Cross-hatching like crazy!

Budapest by Billy Collins

Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate and one of America's best-selling poets, reads his poem "Budapest" with animation by Julian Grey of Headgear.



Budapest
by Billy Collins

My pen moves along the page like the snout of a strange animal, shaped like a human arm and dressed in the sleeve of a loose green sweater. I watch it sniffing the paper ceaselessly, intent as any forager that has nothing on its mind but the grubs and insects that will allow it to live another day. It wants only to be here tomorrow, dressed perhaps in a sleeve of a plaid shirt, nose pressed against the page, writing a few more dutiful lines while I gaze out the window and imagine Budapest, or some other city where I have never been.

I hadn´t planned on posting this. Somehow I must have published the draft accidently. This is going to be the last poem by Billy Collins. I guess I have to take care that this blog does´t drift off too far into the literature field.

Zurich Impressions - 2 (ATC)

While I´m still courageous I´ll quickly post another two BDSM-images which are older pics. Very quick... before I change my mind (Don´t want to know what some of you are thinking by now ;) )





These two atcs were made for a friend of mine in the UK. He asked me for them as he collects pictures of bondage women. Crazy British! Or should I say crazy Swiss? ;) (But I had fun drawing them.)

Zurich Impressions

A friend of mine told me to practice cross-hatching to improve the shadows and highlights of my drawings. I´ve never done that before so don´t expect too much. I did some cross-hatch-doodling of the things which came to my mind when I thought of Zurich. As you can see, I soon lost my patience and filled the space with text.



If you are wondering whether I met a vampire or a wolf: No, I didn´t!
Was I tied up with ropes? I´ll have to disappoint you again.
But I did spend 3 very interesting days and nights in this city and even if I won´t reveal any details (except if you guess the right thing) I can only recommend you to visit this beautiful city in Switzerland.

Rain by Charles Bukowski

I just received a comment from Angelina. She said that she was glad to have stumbled on my blog and to have had the chance to read something of Bukowski which she could actually enjoy and which wasn´t too depressing. So this poem is specially for her.
I don´t find his work depressing at all. Actually I tend to laugh a lot while reading his books. That may sound strange, but I guess it is the way he describes everything. Often while reading his work, I nod to myself and think he just knows how crazy this world is. Another thing I really like about him is that he doesn´t judge his characters and you can feel his sympathy for them (even if his language may not be very sensitive ;) ).


Rain
Charles Bukowski

a symphony orchestra.
there is a thunderstorm,
they are playing a Wagner overture
and the people leave their seats under the trees
and run inside to the pavilion
the women giggling, the men pretending calm,
wet cigarettes being thrown away,
Wagner plays on, and then they are all under the
pavilion. the birds even come in from the trees
and enter the pavilion and then it is the Hungarian
Rhapsody #2 by Lizst, and it still rains, but look,
one man sits alone in the rain
listening. the audience notices him. they turn
and look. the orchestra goes about its
business. the man sits in the night in the rain,
listening. there is something wrong with him,
isn't there?
he came to hear the music.

If I would have been there, I would have joined the man and would haven enjoyed the rain/music.

Kabuki, A Comic Book Series by David Mack (ATC)

"Perhaps creating keeps you young. There is no time when you are in the creating space. The more of this world’s time that you spend there, the less you age." (Kabuki: The Alchemy #4)



"Don’t sacrifice your dreams for the illusion of security. There is no security. Realize there is no security and become comfortable with that. It will free you up to do what you really need to do." (Kabuki: The Alchemy #4)

I´m really into comic books. Specially those with beautiful (often dark) artwork or those with great content.
KABUKI is a comic book series by artist and writer David Mack, first published in 1994 by Caliber Press and later by Image Comics. The series concerns an assassin belonging to a special, government-backed circle of masked and costumed female enforcers called the Noh in near-future Japan and her struggle for her identity.
So far I have only had a short glance into the series, but the artwork is great and the content too. So I´m planning on getting the whole series.

For My Friend S.!

Here´s a pic I drew for S. a few days after her funeral.



Hope she´s okay now.

The Dead by Billy Collins

"As I'm writing, I'm always reader conscious. I have one reader in mind, someone who is in the room with me, and who I'm talking to, and I want to make sure I don't talk too fast, or too glibly. Usually I try to create a hospitable tone at the beginning of a poem. Stepping from the title to the first lines is like stepping into a canoe. A lot of things can go wrong." (1999, Billy Collins)

Billy Collins is the former US Poet Laureate and one of the America’s best selling (action) poets.
Though I think his website is pretty cool, there is something about his reading which I do not like at all. I´m very sensitive when it comes to voices. A great voice can read anything but then I always have difficulties following the words. I can only hear the voice and the emotions. And if a voice or the reading isn´t that good I don´t want to listen to the poem either.

Here he reads his poem “The Dead” with an animation by Juan Delcan of Spontaneous.



The Dead

The dead are always looking down on us,
they say,
while we are putting on our shoes or making a sandwich,
they are looking down through the glass-bottom boats,
of heaven as they row themselves slowly through eternity.
They watch the tops of our heads moving below on earth,
And when we lie down in a field or on a couch,
Drugged perhaps by the hum of a warm afternoon,
They think we are looking back at them,
which makes them lift their oars and fall silent and wait,
like parents,
for us to close our eyes

The Icecream People by Charles Bukowski

The icecream we had this afternoon was good. It reminded me of another poem by Charles Bukowski: The Icecream People. I can relate to his understanding of icecream people. :)


The Icecream People
Charles Bukowski

the lady has me temporarily off the bottle
and now the pecker stands up
better.
however, things change overnight--
instead of listening to Shostakovich and
Mozart through a smeared haze of smoke
the nights change, new
complexities:
we drive to Baskin-Robbins,
31 flavors:
Rocky Road, Bubble Gum, Apricot Ice, Strawberry
Cheesecake, Chocolate Mint...

we park outside and look at icecream
people
a very healthy and satisfied people,
nary a potential suicide in sight
(they probably even vote)
and I tell her
"what if the boys saw me go in there? suppose they
find out I'm going in for a walnut peach sundae?"
"come on, chicken," she laughs and we go in
and stand with the icecream people.
none of them are cursing or threatening
the clerks.
there seem to be no hangovers or
grievances.
I am alarmed at the placid and calm wave
that flows about. I feel like a leper in a
beauty contest. we finally get our sundaes and
sit in the car and eat them.

I must admit they are quite good. a curious new
world. (all my friends tell me I am looking
better. "you're looking good, man, we thought you
were going to die there for a while...")
--those 4,500 dark nights, the jails, the
hospitals...

and later that night
there is use for the pecker, use for
love, and it is glorious,
long and true,
and afterwards we speak of easy things;
our heads by the open window with the moonlight
looking through, we sleep in each other's
arms.

the icecream people make me feel good,
inside and out.

My Daughter´s Words 4

A (4 years old): "The sun was shining so strong today. Just as strong as I am. Just as strong as my muscles."



It´s really hot outside now, so we are going downtown to have an icecream.

Back To Black by Amy Winehouse

Back to Black by Amy Winehouse is currently my favorite album. All of the songs on it are great. I´ll be posting 2 or 3 of them here.

The video for Back To Black is shot in black and white and compares in imagery a doomed love affair with that of a funeral.



Back To Black
by Amy Winehouse

He left no time to regret
Kept his dick wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black

We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to.....

I go back to us

I love you much
It's not enough
You love blow and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to

Black, black, black, black, black, black, black,
I go back to
I go back to

We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to

We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to black

Nicole Eisenman

Installations of paintings, collages, assemblages, drawings, found objects and murals are what you can find at Nicole Eisenman's exhibitions. The moods of her work shift from nice to nasty effortlessly - which is a wonderful contrast.


Spring Fling
1996 Oil on Canvas
© by Nicole Eisenman

Her work is humerous, but the content often isn`t funny. To have a look at her more explicit work you should visit one of her exhibitions.


Batcave
2000 Oil on Canvas
© by Nicole Eisenman

Zurich - Art Museums

We are spending a few days in Zurich, Switzerland at our friends` place. The weather is great and as usual it is very relaxing here.
I spent a crazy evening here today, but before that I went and had a look at two exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Zürich and the museum für gegenwartskunst. Strange, but good stuff by Spartacus Chetwynd and Nicole Eisenman. That is the usual combination I like.
One special exhibition was called "How To Cook A Wolf". More than strange and not my taste.

As soon as we are back home, I`ll post some relevant pictures.

I Met A Genius by Charles Bukowski

I Met A Genius
by Charles Bukowski

I met a genius on the train
today
about 6 years old,
he sat beside me
and as the train
ran down along the coast
we came to the ocean
and then he looked at me
and said,
it's not pretty.

it was the first time I'd
realized
that.

Charles Bukowski is one of my favorite writers. He makes me smile, so there will be more to come!

EDM #110 - A Flame

I´ve already been bored with the Everyday Matters (EDM) weekly challenge. I always have the feeling I would rather draw something else than the weekly topic. But then I do know that it will help me improve my skills if I draw what I am asked to, so I force myself to complete some more themes of their long list of challenges.

My friend S.

Last Saturday (March 31) my best friend from school died. Due to our holidays I received the message pretty late and also missed her funeral - which made things even worse.
I knew that she wasn´t feeling well and since at least one year we have both been trying to meet each other. Unfortunately that didn´t work out. I´m just glad that at least we had managed to refresh our email contact again.



Actually we became friends pretty late. It was on one of our last school trips. We visited Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. By chance we ended up staying in one room together. Only then, at the end of our school time did I get to know her.
This one week we stayed in Prague was wonderful and we became really good friends. Somehow I had the feeling that each of us had had a very good influence on the other one during that time. While I helped her out with little stuff, she was a wonderful supporter when I needed it.
I remember that she used to watch me in the morning in the bathroom, when I applied mascara. I offered her to try it out and after short hesitation she gladly borrowed it every morning.
When I went to get my first tattoo in a little czech tattoo parlor she accompanied me. And I really was afraid as the lady before me was screaming and crying while having her tattoo done. But S. held my hand and told me not to worry and that I would be strong enough to handle the pain. She was right and while getting the tattoo done she was standing in the other room, looking over the partition with a big smile. And I smiled back and the pain was quite bearable.
These few days in Prague let us know and like each other pretty well.

Soon school was over and we didn´t see us very often. We exchanged emails from time to time and so stayed in contact. Whenever I got news from her she surprised me somehow. She was full of energy and always smiling. I loved being around her and it surely never was long enough. Her laughing used to be contagious.

When I got married we had a small ceremony at the town hall and when we came out of the building S. and another friend were standing there throwing flower petals at us. What a wonderful surprise! We had only invited few people and I was so happy to see my friends there. I´m glad I managed to convince them to join the party.

I don´t really have any words for my sorrow and I know I could have tried harder to meet her. I just wish that she had sensed how much I liked her. Maybe she knows. I do hope so.

Balance - short film

Balance is a German animated film, released in 1989. It was directed and produced by twin brothers Wolfgang and Christoph Lauenstein.
The movie won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short of 1989.


Link: sevenload.com
I watched the movie the first time about 7 years ago and I still like it.