Friday, December 17, 2021

52 Fridays - Songye, If I Had a Hammer

 

"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon thee.” - Jules "Pulp Fiction"

Are you feeling it? Because that's what I'm picking up off this Songye nail fetish figure from the Congo area of Africa. Each of those nails likely represents a curse put on someone by an enemy or it could be against this specific figure or they could represent all the people this person killed, anyway you look at it, this figure is one bad pile of Ju-Ju. 

I collected this image from "fernandin_jones" great feed on Insta-spam. No information about it other than it's a "Songye" figure and it is for sale. 

The strange, large head with nails sticking out of it and the expression on the face is what compelled me to draw this piece. I also like the fragmented body (a reoccurring motif in my drawings) and the overall shape. This also inspires an alien or demon character design that I will tinker with. Would make for a cool stop-motion creature...

Happy Friday and Happy Christmas!

OK HW






Friday, December 10, 2021

52 Fridays - Igala Nobel (with a little help from my little friend)

 

I had a little help with this week's drawing, more like supervision, from our cat Nūna. She was purring the entire time, so maybe she liked what I was doing, or maybe she was an artist in a former life, either way it was lovely to have her company.

It's week fifty, so this is the fiftieth drawing of this project, just two more to go... I won't celebrate just yet.

This Nobel looking figure comes from the Igala people of the Nigeria area of Africa. It was posted on "InstaSPAM" (I'm calling it that because lately every third posting is an ad, sponsored or suggested. It's really annoying) by "africanarttreasure.de" which is my first time referencing something from their feed. Good looking collection, I'm sure I'll pull from there again sometime.

The big mohawk/head plate shape was the first thing that attracted me, than the open, yelling (screaming?) mouth, overall textures and strong shadows. He was fun to draw.

OK HW







Friday, December 03, 2021

52 Fridays - Patchwork Tin Man

 

Have you ever felt like you were ripped up and reassembled? That's what I thought when I saw this strange figure fabricated from pieces of tin (or is it bronze, brass?) Chunks of life tied together in a patchwork that make a world-weary soul. I can relate.

I know nothing about this piece unfortunately, other than it is likely from Africa. I found it on the Instagram account of "fernandin_jones" . Update! Fernando Pujol provided information about the piece. It's an"old reliquary Kota from Gabon".

On first look, the shape caught my attention, then the expression, the eyes and mouth (great lips always get me) and the droopy horns that just lay down along the oval dome head. Once more I worked tiny, this piece is only nine centimeters high, same pens as last week (Sakura Pigma Micron 005 and Mitsubishi Uni Pin Fine Line 0.3) and added him to the same page of last week's drawing. The style is inspired by R. Crumb with some Frank Miller thrown in. I will drawing this one again sometime using a ballpoint pen that allows for more subtle shading and textures. 

It is a snowy day here in Riga, Latvia. It's been snowing nearly everyday for the last week and stayed cold enough that the snow hasn't melted, just piling up. Good day to hunker down and make drawings.

Happy Friday,

OK HW









Friday, November 26, 2021

52 Fridays - BEARDROBEER

 

Happy "Black" Friday, although I don't do the big Christmas shopping thing anymore, especially on this day, so maybe I should say, "Anti-Black Friday". 

This week's drawing is a BEARDROBEER Gere African Mask from Liberia I found on an IG feed called "afrikaria". According to the description, the BEARDROBEER is some kind of crazy wild boar that has inspired ritual masks across a wide group of tribes in Western Africa. To my eye, he looks like one of the funkier and cool Muppets that likely sat in with Dr. Teeth's rock band. I gave the ballpoint ink pen a rest this week and used this lovely Sakura Pigma (Pig - get it!) Micron 005 pen that lays down a really nice line. I don't normally fetishize my creation tools, but I'm hooked on this pen and need to try some other sizes. This is a small, nearly tiny drawing, the pen is there is reference, no I'm not trying to sell anything here. I was inspired by the amazing work of R. Crumb and Moebius as I worked on the drawing. They both are masters of fine line work and getting the most out of every mark. Maybe if I keep practicing and live to 152, I might be as good as they are one day...

OK HW




Friday, November 19, 2021

52 Fridays - A Fragment from a Sacred Post...

 

Is this a fragment of a sacred post? Too early to judge. Greetings from Riga, Latvia. I am settling into this new life, feeling a bit fragmented myself from the jet lag and soft culture shock. I could do with a bit of defragmenting. 

This drawing was done on a layover in JFK airport on the flight over. It is a "FRAGMENT OF A SACRED POST", Gupna village, Owaraha island, Solomon island, Melanesia that I found on the IG account "tribal_art_society". I'm always drawn to fragments of sculpture or carvings and I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's the asymmetrical form or the opportunity to fill the space in, who knows. This one also pulled me in with the one good eye and large nose ring and small, pouty mouth. 

So was this a sacred post? Only time will tell...

OK HW







Saturday, November 13, 2021

52 Fridays - The Kiss Goodbye, the Kiss Hello...

 

This week's drawing was a quick one as it's been a busy time. I am traveling to Latvia to be with my girlfriend Ieva. I moved out of my apartment in Richmond, Virginia this week, put a few things in storage and gave away the rest. RVA has been a good home for me this last two years and I will miss, my friends, hiking along the James River and the people and culture here, so the kiss goodbye. On the other end of this journey is Riga, Latvia, also a city defined by a river, the mighty Daugava, also a capital city with good people and culture, so a warm kiss hello. 

This mask comes from the Luba people of the Zaire River Basin, who are known for their Striated face masks. I found it on the Instagram feed of "beauty_and_the_belief", whom I have pulled from before. Does that look like a kiss to you? It did for me.

See you next week from Riga!

OK HW