Blog Carnival, Some Reflection, Future Direction.

Blog carnival story telling story writing story in the caricature

NEW, IMPROVED?!

Dear Readers and Visitors,

I’ve been thinking about the “Tell-the-Story-in-the-Caricature” blog Carnival and though I tried very hard, I couldn’t let myself euthanize it. There’s a lot of life and promises left in the Carnival, but I guess I haven’t been able to do justice to it. So I took an off from the Carnival this month, and did something that artists are never given credit for doing. I chucked the pencil, sat down, and thought. Here’s what came of it.

1. The Carnival lives but it doesn’t stay confined to this blog. It moves. The writer who posts the first link gets to take the Carnival to her/his blog and then it remains there for that month. I’ll still do the caricature, but I send the caricature to the writer and she presents it on her blog. I’ll do a post promoting the carnival.

2. I’ll be able to bring the Carnival back by being the first to post a story for a caricature, and believe me, I have no qualms bringing it back:)

3. Oorvi won’t be writing any more stories for the Carnival. She tells me that she wants to write dog-stories, and I have told her that I don’t want to do dog-caricatures…so we are likes cats and dogs now – and we don’t see eye-to-eye.

My takeaway would be the happiness of seeing my caricature on your blog:) What do you think?

‘guess that’s about it. I’ll be posting the February 2011 Carnival soon and see if we can work with its New Improved Version.

Ideas for improvement would be appreciated, as long as they don’t include doing Free Caricatures because I don’t really have the bandwidth for it. I work about 14 hours a day, and the only reason I do caricatures is because I appreciate the freedom of doing what catches my fancy.

Will set the ball rolling if I get at least five votes in. More are appreciated:)

Another interesting idea (for the Artist Visitor of this blog) is brewing in my overworked mind…it’ll spillover shortly:)

Best Regards and Thanks for visiting and commenting.

Shafali the Caricaturist who wants to DRAW TO SMILE!

Update on Feb 02, 2011:  The idea got just one vote in the last three days 😦 So…crish…crash…crush…idea balled up…and here it goes sailing into the waste-basket! More on this later. Ajay, thanks for your kind support:)

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Caricature/Cartoon – Sarah Jessica Parker – The Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City.

Know Sarah Jessica Parker?
No?
Know Carrie Bradshaw?
Of course.

Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City brought her four Golden Globes and many other awards. She is also a Hollywood Actress who has worked in a movie by the same name (SATC) and many other films.

Sarah Jessica Parker - Caricature Portrait of Carrie Bradshaw - Sex and the City

The Caricature, Cartoon, Portrait, Sketch of Sarah Jessica Parker, the Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City - SATC

Short biography of Sarah Jessica Parker:

Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Ohio (1965) and had 8 siblings of the half and the full kind. The interesting but unfortunate bit about her lineage is that Esther Elwell, one of the women who was accused of being a witch and tried in the Salem witch trials, was her ancestor. She began acting at a very early age. Her career swung upwards in 1990s and she starred opposite Nicholas Cage, Bruce Willis, and Johnny Depp too!

However, she’s best known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, which was first aired in 1998. Sex and the City was an HBO sitcom, which brought her awards and fame.

Sarah has also endorsed some important brands (Garnier, Gap…) and in 2005, she even released her own perfume called, “Lovely”.

Her lovelife between 1984 and 1991 was centered on Robert Downey, Jr. (Something that I can’t understand is how can someone go through his whole life lugging someone else’s name with a Junior attached to it! I guess this must’ve been the real reason behind Downey’s drug problem, which ultimately terminated his relationship with Ms. Parker.) In 1997, she married Matthew Broderick.

Sarah Jessica Parker in News:

“I Don’t Know How She Does It” a movie based on a book by Allison Pearson will feature Sarah starring opposite Pierce Brosnan. The movie is expected to be in theaters by 2012. SJP plays a finance executive who is the breadwinner for her family, which includes her husband and children.

Read about it here.
Sarah J Parker made it to the top of the ugliest women list published by the Men’s Magazine Maxim. However, not everyone agrees – she’s got boat-loads of fans who think she’s witty and charming. (Remember something about beauty being skin-deep? This is especially true when men sit down to assess beauty!)
Read a fan’s take on Maxim’s listing here .

Sarah Jessica Parker Quotes:

Here’s a really cool SJP quote:
“After all, computers crash, people die, relationships fall apart. The best we can do is breath and reboot.”
and another one…
“I like my money right where I can see it… hanging in my closet.”
and finally…
“Can you really forgive if you can’t forget?”

The woman has a head on her shoulders…right?
read more Sarah J. Parker quotes here.

Coming up…Caricatures of – SJP of SATC and ARR!

I’d like to begin by thanking Ian for splashing his creativity on my blog and calling Leonardo Da Vinci, Leony Darling!

Thanks Ian. I am sure that if Da Vinci were born in our times, his mother and his numerous girlfriends and boyfriends would queue up behind me  to thank you:)

So…

I dreamed of Leony Darling (looking young and dapper.) He was standing in Verrocchio’s workshop correcting the nose of the young angel in the painting that will later be called “Baptism of Christ.” When he heard me come in, he looked up and asked me to mix some paint for him, which I did only because I knew that he was going to be one of the Greats in future. He took the paint that I had mixed on a wooden palette, our fingers touched, and he froze; a glazed look came into his eyes and his voice changed. I understood that he was struck with a vision of the future. He said something to me in a rather quaint version of Italian, which Barb of Creative Barbwire translated for me.

He said, “I see you drawing the caricatures of this woman called Sarah Jessica Parker, who has a thin, emaciated, and elongated face and a man called A.R. Rahman, who is a short, rotund, and funny looking man. You would be publishing at least one of the two caricatures on your blog in the last week of January 2011!”

Believe it or not – half of the prophecy that Leony Darling made has already come true…and I am afraid that the other half shall come true too. I wish he had said something about whose caricature would be published first, but he didn’t. So it’s now up to you and me to decide. Who’d you like to see first?

Caricature/Cartoon of Monalisa and the truth behind her smile!

Presenting Monalisa who mocks you from a portrait drawn by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s possible that you haven’t heard of Da Vinci, but it’s almost impossible that you don’t know about Mona Lisa and her enigmatic smile.
Here’s The Caricaturist’s rendition of the “Greatest work of Art” in the world.

Caricature, Cartoon, Sketch, Drawing of Monalisa or Mona Lisa a Portrait by Leonardo da Vinci

What's behind that smile?

Countless historians have spent countless number of hours, days, and years, trying to answer two questions:
1. Who is Mona Lisa?
2.  What does her smile mean?

What everyone knows is that Monalisa is a portrait done by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest artists of all times, who was really awful at completing his paintings. We’d never know how he motivated himself to complete this one but he managed it somehow. Monalisa won’t have become this famous if about 400 years of its being painted, a patriotic Italian won’t have tried to take it back to Italy, where he thought it belonged (forgetting completely that one of the many King Louis’ had bought it from Salai, the guy who had inherited the portrait from Leonardo da Vinci!) Anyway, Mona Lisa has lived in the Louvre Museum of Paris for most of its life and right now it’s better guarded and protected than the President of the US.

To cut a long post short, let’s quickly look at the possible answers to the two questions that many good people called art historians have spent the best parts of their lives, trying to answer!

Mona Lisa – Who’s she?

Honestly speaking, nobody knows. Here are some possibilities though.
Mona Lisa is:

  • Leonardo da Vinci’s self-portrait.
  • Salai, his buffoon-of-a-pupil and possible lover’s portrait.
  • A pregnant Italian Noblewoman’s portrait (La Gioconda?)
  • A poor unfortunate woman’s portrait.

Why is the woman (?) in the Mona Lisa portrait smiling? What’s behind that smile?

I guess this is a question that people have been asking ever since 1911 – the year in which Mona Lisa became famous because she was stolen.

Of course, interpretations abound; but here’s my viewpoint.
The “person” in the painting is smiling because:

  • Leonardo da Vinci winked at him/her.
  • Leonardo told a lawyer’s joke while he was painting.
  • Salai, his pupil of a “special nature” told Leonardo a vegetarian joke (because Leonardo was a vegetarian) and he/she overheard it.
  • Melzi, his other pupil of another “special nature” told Leonardo that Salai had finally made a recognizable portrait.
  • Leonardo da Vinci didn’t realize that he had paint on his nose.
  • The “person” was a man dreaming of a portrait of him riding a horse.
  • The “person” was a woman dreaming of a portrait with jewels around her neck.
  • The “person” was an alien wondering why Leonardo da Vinci couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be an engineer, an anatomist, a sculptor, a metal worker, or an artist…for artssakes!

And if these aren’t enough reasons for you to choose from, click here to discover what the experts have to say about Monalisa and her smile.

Amy asked me to leave the caricature untitled – so untitled it is. What in your opinion is the reason behind her smile?

Coming up Next…A Caricature of a Portrait!

Last night I dreamed that I couldn’t get out of my house because my caricatures were protesting outside. My caricatures had organized a rally and they had congregated from all over the world to protest against my casual attitude towards them. They were holding placards that read “The Caricaturist has let us down”, “We want her out!”, “It’s our blog!”, “She’s turned against us!”…and so on!

Guess I’ve been keeping busy with drawing portraits and dreaming about meeting Leonardo da Vinci in person.  But that Caricature Rally jolted me back to my senses, and I drew a caricature.

Coming up Next – IS the CARICATURE of a PORTRAIT – The Mona Lisa (also called Monalisa) by the arto-scientific genius Leonardo da Vinci 🙂

For all of you who’ve boarded the Caricature Express recently, here’s the caricature of the Master,  drawn from his self-portrait.

 

A caricature, cartoon, sketch, portrait of the great artist leonardo da vinci who was also a sculptor, an inventor, and a writer.

Monalisa's Creator - Leonardo da Vinci!

I’ll meet you at the next station with Monalisa’s caricature and the true explanation of her smile!

 

Presenting The Pen and Ink Portrait of Dewey Dewster, the Wire Fox Terrier with an Attitude!

I thought that the visitors to my blog shouldn’t be denied the opportunity of meeting Mr. Dewey Dewster, the magnificent Wire Fox Terrier, who works as a reporter in Petsburg, Pawsylvania. This gentle-dog gave me the opportunity to create his portrait in pen & ink. I sought his permission to present this portrait here, by writing to his Gram who obviously is his Personal Assistant as well – and he has given me a paws-up for it.
So, my dear visitors, MEET Mr. DEWEY DEWSTER, the Canine Reporter of Petsburg, the Hunter of the Vermin, and…the Detector of Porcupines (Ouch!), Turtles, and Rabbits!

Pen and Ink Pet Portrait Drawing of Dewey Dewster, the Terrier Pup

Dewey Dewster, the Fabulous Wire Fox Terrier from Petsburg Pawsylvania – Done in Pen and Ink – Approximate Size 7.5 inches by 8.5 inches.

A little about Dewey Dewster’s Portrait.

It’s done in Pen & Ink, on 120 gsm, acid-free, cartridge sheet in approximately 7.5 inches by 8.5 inches. Nancy had sent me a few high-resolution pictures for reference. I selected one of them as the main reference, and used others to understand Mr. Dewster’s features and personality. The important point to be noted here is that a Pen & Ink pet portrait is different from one that’s done either in oil, water, or pencils. You just can’t afford go wrong in a Pen & Ink drawing, because if you do, you can’t go back and make changes and so you’ve got to start again from scratch. Now that may not seem like a big thing, but imagine going wrong when you are putting the last stroke on the drawing!

Another important aspect of the drawing was that it was to be Dewey’s, and not ANY Wire Fox Terrier’s, portrait. A dog’s face is every bit as unique as a human face – and a pet’s portrait has to capture all that uniqueness, so that when the dog’s human friends look at the portrait, they see THEIR special dog.

I made some sketches, I looked at Dewey’s pictures again and again, and again…until I thought that I could look into his eyes and feel his furry paw in my hands, until I could feel my fingers run through his wirey fur, and until I could feel the silk of his delicate ears…and then I went out on the terrace, sat down against the wall with my drawing board on my knees, then with the soft rays of the December sun lighting up the drawing, I began to draw. Then I guess, I just went on drawing, until I saw Dewey smile at me from the drawing. His smile, half hidden in his magnificent silky beard, inspired me to draw in a cushion, and to give him a private corner of his own…

I would like to thank Dewey Dewster and Nancy Johanson for giving me this wonderful opportunity, and I will thank my own dog Oorvi for overcoming her jealousy and bearing with me:)

A little about this drawing.
It’s done using Pen & Ink on 120 gsm, acid-free, cartridge sheet in approximately 7.5 inches by 8.5 inches. Nancy had sent me a few high-resolution pictures for reference. I selected one of them as the main reference, and used others to understand Mr. Dewster’s features and personality. The important point to be noted here is that a Pen & Ink pet portrait is different from one that’s done either in oil, water, or pencils. You just can’t afford go wrong in a Pen & Ink drawing, because if you do, you can’t go back and make changes and so you’ve got to start again from scratch. Now that may not seem like a big thing, but imagine going wrong when you are putting the last stroke on the drawing!
Another important aspect of the drawing was that it was to be Dewey’s, and not ANY Wire Fox Terrier’s, portrait. A dog’s face is every bit as unique as a human face – and a pet’s portrait has to capture all that uniqueness, so that when the dog’s human friends look at the portrait, they see THEIR special dog.
I made some sketches, I looked at Dewey’s pictures again and again, and again…until I thought that I could look into his eyes and feel his furry paw in my hands, until I could feel my fingers run through his wirey fur, and until I could feel the silk of his delicate ears…and then I went out on the terrace, sat down against the wall with my drawing board on my knees, then with the soft rays of the December sun lighting up the drawing, I began to draw. Then I guess, I just went on drawing, until I saw Dewey smile at me from the drawing. His smile, half hidden in his magnificent silky beard, inspired me to draw in a cushion, and to give him a private corner of his own…
I would like to thank Dewey Dewster and Nancy Johanson for giving me this wonderful opportunity, and I will thank my own dog Oorvi for overcoming her jealousy and bearing with me:)

December 2010 Story Carnival – “Walking in Circles” – A Short Story by Oorvi

Well…well.

Finally my dog shook off her sloth, got out of her bed, and posted her story.  You know how lazy she is…and so it shouldn’t surprise you that she’s posted her story as a .pdf.  The good news is that the .pdf also includes the caricature, and so if you click the download button, you’d get something more than the WiseK9’s Twisty Tale “Walking in Circles”!

Do read the story to figure out why you can’t control everything, and why Sid keeps walking in circles.

That’s all for now…

And yes, please let me know if you’d like the Blog Carnival to continue…because I am not sure 😦

 

 

December 2010 Blog Carnival – The Story “Little Mo and the Shooting Star” by Heart!

The Story-in-the-Caricature blog carnival – December 2010 Edition, inspired one story, but it was worth it:) I loved the story and so did the other readers of this fascinating blog “A Connection to my Heart

Dear Readers, Read the story, “Little Mo and the Shooting Star,”  here, and read about this extremely versatile author who has a unique blogging perspective, here.

And now…about the other story, which my dog wrote on December 29, 2010; but which she didn’t post until now – I will wait until the WiseK9 lady condescends to make that post and inform her forever assistant about it:)

The Caricaturist Thaws in a Polar Bear’s Belly!

Bobbing up and down on the icy cold surface of Arctic Ocean…now dragging myself out of the water, onto a piece of snow-covered ice floating on the ocean…now looking at the seals…and also at the penguins…and…oh no!
<<SPLASH>>
<<GURGLE>>
Now looking a gigantic polar bear who looks hungry!

I don’t know how I ended up here. I’ve no clue. All I remember is – leaving the New Year Party at 3 AM, driving to New Delhi railway station,  taking a walk on the beach at Connaught Place, collecting some shells, and then getting up on a camel to ride home.

I have some faint memories of the last fifteen days, and in all those memories, I see myself as a frozen ice-statue. Now freezing has its advantages – for instance:

  • You stop aging
  • You stop breathing
  • You stop thinking
  • You stop drawing
  • You also stop blogging!

So, now you know why I couldn’t blog all these days. Now, my friends, though trapped on the Arctic, I am thawed, alive, and well; and I’ve also found this laptop with a working Internet connection in the belly of the bear that must’ve snacked on another unfortunate netizen and his laptop, before he feasted on me.  All this, and the cozy warm room in the bear’s stomach should help me regain my strength and help me get back to the world of the living soon.

Thanks for all those “I Miss you” notes that you were just about to write…my dear loving, caring visitors…I know how horrible it must’ve been for you…and though you didn’t express your sorrow…I know! Sniff…sniff!

<<CHOMP>>
<<BURP>>

Oh…Wow! I’ve got company.
Oh No! The idiot ate an insurance agent! I am doomed!

Coming up – December Blog Carnival Entries…

Bobbing up and down on the icy cold surface of Arctic Ocean…now dragging myself out of the water, onto a floating piece of ice covered with snow…now looking at the seals…and also at the penguins…and…oh no!

<<SPLASH>>

<<GURGLE>>
Now looking a humungous polar bear who looks hungry!

I don’t know how I ended up here. I’ve no clue. All I remember is – leaving the New Year Party at 3 AM, driving to New Delhi railway station, and then taking a walk on the beach, collecting some shells, and then getting up on a camel to ride home.

I have some faint memories of the last fifteen days, and in all those memories, I see myself as a frozen ice-statue. Now freezing has its advantages – for instance:

You stop aging

You stop breathing

You stop thinking

You stop drawing

You also stop blogging!

So, now you know why I couldn’t blog all these days. Now, my friends, though trapped on the Arctic, I am thawed, alive, and well; and I’ve also found this laptop with a working Internet connection in the belly of the bear that must’ve snacked on another unfortunate netizen and his laptop, before he feasted on me.  All this, and the cozy warm room in the bear’s stomach should help me regain my strength and help me get back to the world of the living soon.

Thanks for all those “I Miss you” notes that you were just about to write…my dear loving, caring visitors…I know how horrible it must’ve been for you…and though you didn’t express your sorrow…I know! Sniff…sniff!

<<CHOMP>>

<<BURP>>

Oh…Wow! I’ve got company.

Oh No! The idiot ate an insurance agent! I am doomed!