Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A Bangalore Montreal Dialogue


Every Sunday, Julie and I upload all the drawings that we do that week on a tumblog called Hello Every Sunday. You've seen the icon on the left and yes, Facebook readers already know, but since I love my blog I must put it here as well.
Over here in the about section you can read why we do what we do. 
Otherwise do follow us and cheer us on as we drive this little monster forward every week throughout this year.



The top and bottom pictures of the first four photographs are mine, and the pictures in the middle are Julie's. See the difference in lighting of the two countries - the golden winter light from South India and the blue winter light from snowy Quebec.

Here are pictures of the sketchbooks that we are using and that we arrived at by trial and error -
This is the sleek sophisticated fancy Stillman and Birn which Julie decided would meet her needs.


And the bright and chubby Lekka Pustaka (account book) which dazzled me with its red shirt and swore to fulfill all my desires.



When I look at how different the sketchbooks are from each other, I cannot help but think of all the opposites in this project: The cultural differences in the two countries, the different colors of the light, the opposites in temperatures, the fact that we drink tea and coffee respectively, Julie's systematic way of working and my last minute jams... Still, art communicates through all kinds of differences and boundaries. I am sure that towards the end of this project we both will carry away with us a lot more than we ever expected when we started this.


8 comments:

Julie said...

"... as we drive this little monster forward every week throughout this year".
I think it sums it up pretty nicely! But I do love it and I thank you again for inviting me in the feeding of this little monster. I can already see the benefits of committing to drawing daily and it's a pleasure to share the joys and pains of this project with you.
Now come on, only 48 weeks to go!

Shikha said...

Hey, firstly - I absolutely love your work. I wanted to know where I can buy the Lekha Pustaka in Bangalore. I tried in a few shops but they only had ruled version not plain paper for sketching. I'd love to get my hands on one.

Thanks :)

pRiyA said...

@Shikha Hey?
I bought this one at Avenue Road.

pRiyA said...

@Julie: When I read your sentiment and enthusiasm towards Little Monster, I understand why your cats are so well fed.

silviabes said...

such a lovely idea! i started following the tumblr ♥

pRiyA said...

Thank you Silvia :-)

anup keerrthi said...

Checking on your blog after a long time.

Brilliant work. Such ease, so casual yet so real and original. like all the scribbling, pencil text, charcoal smudge, white tape frames (guessing must be used in hospitals), the ledger, the misplaced page numbers. minimalist things from everyday india that has survived all these years. hope you discover many more simple aesthetic affordable finds in every-day india things.

not sure if its the golden winter light or the sepia toned ledger pages that already gives it a vintage feel. hope it survives time.

pRiyA said...

@anup: Thank you for your enthusiastic comment.
Btw the white tape is masking tape which all artists use to stick paper to their drawing boards.
If you like the vintage feel, check out my work at Local Story Space here:
https://localstoryspace.wordpress.com/2017/02/12/guest-writer-illustrator-priya-sebastian/