Emirati beard

I have never had beard. But in my last month here I decided to grow one, after an emirati friend told me that going to the barber was something I had to experience in the UAE. If dificult to explain how the cut is but here is a picture of me, look at the corners under to my ears. Of course it is still growing.. .. any advice from any beardkeeper, how to keep it nice? this is definitly "unknown territory" for me.

Probably more than the beard I like going to the barber. I feel compleatly spoiled and there is a great place to do sketches.

Twitter

Hi guys,
I got twitter. I still don't know how it works. But a media consultant I met in the bookfair in Abu Dhabi told me it is usefull if people want to follow my blog.

Omar Jaramillo's profile on Twitter
@omarpaint

Wadi Wurayah, Fujeira, UAE

I was contacted by Nesrine from the World Wildlife foundation to visit the place. She saw me at the Pecha Kucha Night in Dubai and asked me if I would like to see the the Wadi Wurajah.
A wadi is a valley where little water runs or a dry riverbed. Wadi Wurajah is a natur park with an endangered fauna and flora and as Nesrine said, one of the most beautiful places of the UAE.
My friend Phillip came with me. He was visiting me from Germany for a few days. He is also a landscape architect and he was very interested to see this exceptional landscape, too.
The experience was fantastic. After a great road trip through different Emirates, We met aNesrine at the Badyia Mosque in Fujeira. We move to Naessrine car a 4x 4 adn drive though the dry river bed. The landscape was amzing the Wadi ius full of colors.

The restaurant at the end of the universe

That place from the famous radio show "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" from Douglas Adams is what came to my mind when I first saw this restaurant on the top of the Jabel Hafeet Mountain in Al Ain.
The building stands isolated on the observation platform; sun and wheather have done their work fadding the red colors of the sign that reminds you something come out from an Edward Hooper painting.
There is something absurd in finding such a building here, I got the feeling that is out of place, an architecture not related to the place but transplanted through some kind of cosmic force here. But is at the same time beautiful for the same reasons...:-)

Abu Dhabi Bookfair

I went just to visit the bookfair and I finished making new friends, meeting a lot of interesting people and with my picture in the newspaper. Here are some pictures drawings portraits from my friends in the Illustrators Corner. They are all very talented artists.
A portrait of the talented illustrator Kate Forrester.
Check her website:
http://www.kateforrester.co.uk/



a Portrait of David Habchy on the table of the illustrators corner, on the right his own drawing. check his blog http://klekeesh.blogspot.com/

Drawing Dina Khorchid:

Windtowers Dubai

In Dubai there is this old quarter called Bastakiya. It is beautiful restored and most of the houses are used as cultural spaces. From the terrace of the new Tashkeel house you can see this landscape of windtowers. They were use to collect the fresh breeze, cooling the air in its way down to the central courtyard.
Tashkeel is a cultural organization that promotes the arts in the UAE.

In The National newspaper UAE

I went to the Abu Dhabi Book Fair two days ago. They have this year an illustrators corner. I have the opportunity to meet really talented people and enjoy talking about their work. I show to them also my sketches and they liked them too. I don't remember how it started but one asked me if I could do a portrait of him and then the others followed. When I was doing one portrait the press arrived and started doing some interviews to the illustrators. They also took some pictures of them. The photograph asked me my bussiness card, I though because he liked the portrait I was doing, but I was surprise to find my name and my picture (at least my hands ) in the newspaper next day.

Kathakbox

I went to see the Sonia Sabri dance Company in Abu Dhabi. The company is from Birmingham and was making a tour in the UAE. the show name was Kathakbox and was a mix between traditional indian Kathak dancing , hip hop and contemporary dance. It was very interesting to see the similarities between the different dance styles, and how at the end they are able to express the same things, the show was like a Rosetta stone giving you the keys to understand each dance style. For me that I have never seen Kathak before it was a great way to get to know it, appretiate it and get curious to see and learn more about it.

I try to make some sketches. It was very difficult but I guess I learnt some things....
1.- First I concentrate on drawing hands heads and feet. Not the body, in many cases I didn't even look at the paper. Later I added some light color arround the "ghost" of the body and I was surprise to see how clear the figure was. I had lost my waterbrush so I use a brush pen instead. It allows me to work fast but I still think with the watercolours the result could have been more interesting.
2.-Other new thing I learnt is that if I draw the negative space (between arms and body) that also gives you a very clear image of the figure.