#24 - A Dance of Line & Color

In the previous issue, I looked back at 2020 as the year in which I made art just for art’s sake. In this issue - the last of the year - I share a new podcast episode, a new comic, and a SneakyArt throwback. Enjoy.

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Ep 10 of the SneakyArt Podcast

In this episode, I speak with Singapore-based educator and artist Paul Wang about the way he dances, using line and color, across the page. Paul finds art in the middle of urban chaos and he paints it with dramatic colors and meandering lines. His composition is informed by his education in interior design and theatre production. He tries to tell a story with every piece, and that influences every artistic decision on the page - color and line, conflict and collaboration, work and play. Paul and Suhita Shirodkar have been running the aptly-named Sketching Play Lab since March, with participants from around the world meeting over Zoom. We talk about his work as an educator and urban-sketching instructor, the different ways he encourages people to approach their art practice to find joy, as well as the things he has learned from being in the USk community.

Follow Paul’s work on IG or visit his website to see his art + get info on the Sketching Play Lab.

Listen to the episode on your choice of streaming service.

Spotify | Apple | PocketCasts | Google | Web | Gaana | JioSaavn

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Mogambo & the Pursuit of Happiness

I just released part 1 (of 3) of a new comic with Bakarmax about a much-maligned character from Bollywood pop culture, arguably our first great supervillain - Mogambo.

I have always had great sympathy for the villains of Bollywood. Since childhood, I have felt the villains were the real protagonists, and the heroes the antagonists. You see, villains of Bollywood have compelling backstories, deep-seated motivations, flawed personalities, and a character arc that sometimes brings them to redemption by the end of the film. Great story all around. In comparison, the classic Bollywood hero was a single-dimensional force of good. And the heroine wanted nothing except to get married to the hero. They didn’t have flaws, they had ideals. They didn’t have shades of grey, they had bright white teeth. They didn’t hold lifelong grudges, they held hands and sang songs. It was boring.

Mogambo featured in the 1987 movie Mr. India by Shekhar Kapur. It is the story of a daring entrepreneur who defied a closed market economy to build a phenomenally successful industrial enterprise. But the entire organization, and the thousands of people it uplifted through gainful employment, is destroyed by the actions of a vengeful, unemployable commie-librul operating an illegal orphanage on ancestral property. Yet it is Mogambo who is portrayed as the villain of the story. Why? Because the laws of Bollywood demand that it be so? Well, I disagree. With this series, I present an alternate take to the story, from the point of view of the real protagonist.

Early photo of M and family recovered from the ruins of M-Island.

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SneakyArt Throwback2020

In closing, here are some of my favorite lines from 2020.

warm but windy afternoon at the lakeshore, chicago

at the art institute of chicago

a raised bridge, or origami duck?

a moment, on the cta

connecting with friends 2020 edition

one of many drawings of the wife-person this year

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This year has sucked in many ways. But it is the year I started this newsletter and the podcast. For that I am glad. It is a year I am ending safe and healthy. For that I am grateful.

Thanks for sticking with me. I’m happy that you’re here. Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year! See you in 2021!