Impromptu shoot

We had such fun this week with our impromptu photo shoot.  The students participated in a group project posing as models, and acting real professional at that!   I was the photographer, of course. 

The only props I brought were the hats & noses... it is amazing how a hat transforms us.  I wish we can live in a world where it is still customary to wear hats every day.

It was wonderful that it could just be spontaneous - people are so beautiful when they smile.

Prayer

This piece from Luke 18 (verse 1-8) is so powerful. It is a parable told by Jesus about prayer.
I read it recently & it meant so much to me. We shouldn't give up believing & trusting so quickly.

(If the text on the sketch is too small, right click on the image & open it in a new tab.)

Shoe Shop Confusion

This slice of life incident happened recently when I was on the hunt for a new pair of shoes. This country is so rich in the various cultures & languages, it could easily become tricky to be understood. Events similar to this one most probably happens quite frequently. I mentally jotted the conversation & drew a draft the moment I got home. I've come to realise that stories may be 'less planned & structured' at times and still provide enough joy. Stories need to contain a lot of play & play mostly doesn't consist of too much planning. You just tell it as it is.

I've also wanted to explore ink washes & drawing from memory. Therefor the light source & perspective is quite straigthforward still. It is a lot freer to work in washes, I might like to do more in the future.

My Family poster

I've recently been asked to draw an educational poster of the family. It is intended to be coloured in by pupils of the class so as to involve them in the process. The poster is available in any standard size: A3, A2, A1. It will be distributed to schools in rural areas all over Mpumalanga & beyond. Here in sunny South Africa eleven official languages are recognised - that's a lot of languages! In Mpumalanga most speak either English, Siswati, Sotho & Afrikaans. To sovle the printing cost/language dilemma I left the boxes blank for each teacher to fill in the appropriate word in their mother tongue of choice. The above image serves only as illustration of what words are intended for which boxes, but the original obviously is blank.

Since then I've begun on a new comic that's been with me for a while now. It's only been an idea though, I haven't had the courage to draw it yet, until now. It's a tough story to write - I'm not even sure if I will publish it, but it has to come out to the light. It can't stay in my head anymore. So write we shall & what will happen in the future, we'll see when we get there.
I've read this graffiti on a desk, toilet door, somewhere recently: 'nothing interesting happens when you know where you are going'. It sums it up well.

P.S. Oh, I should've mentioned: distribution of this poster is free, so if you want a mahala copy for your classroom in high res pdf format (A2 size), just post your request & I'll e-mail it through to you.

ek is fine

Die strip is redelik selfverklarend. Ek kan wel sê ek voel beter sedert ek die storie kon teken. Dis 'n voorreg om êrens 'n platform te hê om jou mening te mag lug.

hy het my lief

The typeface is finally complete! I am quite pleased that I was able to figure out how to save a version compatible for pc & mac. I took the inspiration of the design from my teenage school desk doodles: does he love me, does he not? To dare to hope this love is eternal. It is also the motivation behind the name of the typeface - 'hy het my lief' which is Afrikaans for 'he loves me'.
It is a very good exercise to design a face; to appreciate each letterform as a single unit, whilst also consider it as an ingredient to the sum of the parts (not even mentioning kerning pairs). I've also included special glyphs of all the vowels (umlaut, grave, accent, circumflex), the numerals & some essential punctuation marks (full stop, comma, brackets, curly brace, question mark, exclamation mark, hyphen & forward slash). I feel quite satisfied with the result.

May you have a blessed festive season!
Love,
E

Hurrah! Off to the printers!

I'm so pleased to report that the illustrations for the project are complete & sent off to the printers. This is really exciting! Can't wait to see what the book looks like printed. It was such a joy to be involved in this project. Hope many more to come.

Hoe dit is

Hoe dit is

Ek vind jou nie
- nie tussen die spore van woorde nie;
nie agter glas of akkoorde nie...

Dis 'n sprokie díé:
die spel van wie pas by wie.

Maar die sprokie laat my rustig slaap
en snags in my droom
is dit jy wat my ontwaak.

A Woman's Worth

I've recently completed this mini-comic. The story is not completely my own - I've read a version thereof a while ago (more than a year!) and knew instantaneously I would want to draw it as a comic. Even though it specifically deals with the value many women place upon themselves according to how the men in their lives love them, it is not restricted to women. It is a human condition & a very important realisation where your true perceived worth lies.

(Click on the images to enlarge)

'n Middag saam met Elmarie

Wanneer mens iemand teken is die oomblik wanneer jy waarlik begin kyk.  Jou aandag word nie verdeel, opgesny en afgewater om die vele nuanses van die gesprek, die mens, die verbygangers en jou eie gevoelens oor wat bespreek word in te neem nie.  Om iemand te mag teken gee jou toestemming om te staar; om net te sien hoe die laaste flou son oor hul vel speel; hoe die lewe as mooi plooie oor hul gaan lê en jy as tekenaar kan nie help om te besef hoe mooi hierdie mens gemaak is nie.