#25 - Grey Skies of Limbo
a new comic, a look back at the podcast, and some lines.
In the last issue, I introduced the latest podcast episode and looked back at SneakyArt of 2020. In this one there is a comic, a look back at the podcast, and some lines.
It is a grey sky outside. A train rumbles past my window. Over the blanketing noise of our central heating unit, it sounds like a toy train on a toy track. I watch as it peeks from behind my computer screen, snakes around the desk lamp, behind the flowers I should have thrown out last week, and I watch as it disappears behind an apartment building. The building is fake too. There are fake tiny balconies attached to fake tiny doors. Fake blinds are pulled on fake windows. Fake plastic chairs sit outside next to fake barbecue grills. I admire the craftsmanship. On the road below, yesterday’s snow has organized itself into little mounds of fine powder. Some tiny cars are parked next to it. If I reach out I could pick them up with one hand and put them on my desk. But now I am kinder to illusions, so I let them be.
Already, there is the illusion that the old year has gone. Because we have left it behind, it does not exist anymore. Also gone is the unpleasantness and the anxiety. In its place there is a fresh sheet of paper, as yet unmarked. I could put anything down on it - ideas, hopes, or wishes. Nothing is out of reach in the limbo of this day. I sit in the warm glow of infinite possibilities. I look at my dreams, and I say to them - “Hey, maybe, who knows?”
This will last another day or two. Let’s talk.
SneakyArt
Over Christmas we were visited by friends and their new baby. We watched “Christmas Chronicle” on Netflix and random British quiz-shows.
For New Year’s, we went to a small get-together at a friend’s place. He makes delicious, devilish cocktails. I had an “Assistant to the Sidecar”.
Comic
Yesterday I released Mogambo & the Rise of Jhakaas, the second of my 3-part story about this much-maligned entrepreneur of classic Bollywood. In this part, word spreads of the great industrialist’s rapid wealth-creation. On the mainland, an unemployed, commie-librul jholawala sees the opportunity to make a quick buck.
Read Part 2 here. Or catch up on Part 1.
(This comic was made in collaboration with Sumit Kumar of Bakarmax. Check out his brilliant work.)
I wish I could explain how much effort it takes to strip down to the bare essentials of a scene. This comic was originally 40 pages, then nearly completed at 65 pages, before being whittled down in art, story, line and form to 30 pages of an Instagram-friendly layout. Below, one of my favorite panels.
Podcast
I started the SneakyArt Podcast in September 2020. I end the year with nine conversations - different ways to deal with the adversities of 2020 and find beauty in everyday life.
In Ep 2, I spoke with Denver-based artist Paul Heaston about how he switched from oil-painting on a life-size canvas to sketching his world inside a little sketchbook.
In Ep 3, Montreal-based watercolorist Shari Blaukopf explains the values of building a daily sketching routine, and how she sees colors before shapes or lines.
In Ep 4, Silicon Valley engineer Uma Kelkar talks about “painting like an engineer” and the sacred space that art occupies in her life.
In Ep 5, Chicago-based artist Donald Colley speaks about finding character in urban life, and the importance of not shying away from the uglier aspects of our world.
In Ep 6, Parisian illustrator and travel-artist Mat Let tells me his creative strategies for surviving lockdown in a tiny one bedroom apartment.
In Ep 7, California-based artist Suhita Shirodkar talks about finding moments of beauty in domestic life, and seizing every opportunity to draw no matter how brief.
In Ep 8, I spoke with Portuguese artist Luis Simoes about his decision to quit a day-job and paint his way across all 5 continents.
In Ep 9, Toronto-artist Marek Badzynski shares lessons from selling art to tourists, and the ways he chases curiosity across a blank page.
In Ep 10, Singapore-based artist and educator Paul Wang talks about art as a dance of line and color, and shares the inspiration he finds in urban chaos.
Listen to the SneakyArt Podcast on your choice of streaming service:
Spotify | Apple | PocketCasts | Google | Web | Gaana | JioSaavn
Goal!
A couple of days before the year ended, the SneakyArt Podcast crossed 5000 listens. This was a goal I had set without any idea for what it would mean to achieve it, or how I would make it happen. So yay.
5000 listens mean more to me than 5000 views on YouTube, or 5000 likes on Instagram. A listen on a podcast is a more deliberate, sincere interaction than other social media. I am glad for the opportunity to engage deeply with people who like my work and choose to give me their time and attention.
Thank you for listening!
There are many things planned for 2021, including an original, serialized comic on this newsletter + a new city for SneakyArt. See you next week. And happy new year!