By way of a good friend, I was in attendance at Tuesday’s performance by jazz legend Pharoah Sanders. This was the first show of five at New York City’s Birdland. It was quite a scene to watch the 71 year old with his white hair, white beard and white shirt against the deep red “BIRDLAND” backdrop. Check him out if your in the NYC area this week.
I will post more drawings from that night soon on my blog.
Took this drawing I made of an Afro-Cuban band in New Orleans a few years ago and messed around with it in the computer. It was fun to create the brown line and add some music/energy marks in bright colors. This was an awesome band, the old Cuban guys really knew how to create a wall of energy with their bongo drums. The crowd loved it too, everyone was dancing around me while I was drawing. It is one of my favorite New Orleans memories, on good old Frenchman Street.
posted by Veronica
Our One Drawing A Day book is available now! Stay tuned for an announcement about our Flickr group, so you can post One Drawing A Day along with the Studio 1482 illustrators.
I just returned from a trip to New Orleans, one of my favorite cities. While there I decided to visit the lower ninth ward and record what was going on there, six years after the massive flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina. It was shocking to see…many of the homes that were once there are just gone. In an average city block, there are a few homes left standing in disrepair, like the one I drew above, a few homes that have been either built from scratch or repaired from the hurricane damage, and many, many empty lots. You’ll see cement stoops leading to nothing, and the whole place is overgrown with weeds. As I drew this drawing, the sound of the birds singing was overwhelming. It seems like nature is taking over the ninth ward again. There are some foundations trying to help people re-build, and I went to see those as well, but there is still so much to do. I’ll be posting more of these drawings on my personal blog this week, if anyone is interested to see and read more of the story. Posted by Veronica.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to attend a performance by the great blues singer, Dr. John, at a small venue in the East 60′s in Manhattan. There he was in all his purple velvet glory, belting them out in a little chic enclave with tapestry wallpaper and crystal chandeliers. I loved the contrast! Dr. John is a fantastic performer, my favorite song he regaled us with that night goes something like this: “How come my dog don’t bark when YOU come around?” Ha ha – that’s great stuff!!! – Veronica
When life gets hectic, I often travel to New Orleans in my mind. Warm weather, the scent of honeysuckle, the sound of gypsy guitars and the slow pulse of the paddleboats going up the Mississippi. I like New Orleans. Veronica
In honor of the start of the holiday weekend, I thought I’d post a drawing I made at the biggest and most fabulous outdoor barbecue I’ve ever been to, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival! This drawing is of folks two-stepping at the zydeco tent, yee-ha — Happy 4th of July! – Veronica
New Orleans is really a romantic city – the jazz music, the voodoo vibe, the paddle boats, the wrought iron architecture and of course, the horse & carriages that are all over the city. The sound of horse hooves clomping down the cobblestone streets (I forgot that in the list!) really adds to the atmosphere. I did some photography of a ‘ghost tour’ while I was there, and the only truly spooky moment in the tour was when we heard the clomping of horse hooves echoing in the distance, and then the horse and carriage appeared out of the fog. But not many ghosts use them for travel around the city – they’re mainly employed by tourists and their guides. I drew this one at the stand, getting ready to leave for it’s antebellum tour of the city. P.S. The magnolia trees are everywhere, and they are very satisfying to draw! More in another week…Veronica
OTRA is one hot latin jazz dance band that I saw performing at the Blue Nile in New Orleans. I met Sam Price, the bassist, when I was drawing him performing with another group at a club on Bourbon Street. “You’ve got to come to Frenchman Street and draw!” he said, and drew me a map to get there the following evening to see his own band perform. Frenchman Street is very cool, Sam was right; a small winding street with little jazz clubs interspersed with pink and blue shotgun houses and magnolia trees. On a warm spring night the air smells like honeysuckle and the people and music spill out of the tiny clubs on to the street. So I went to the Blue Nile and saw Sam’s band Otra – they were HOT! Sam gave me one of their CD’s, I’ll give you the description from the liner notes and let them describe their music: “The backbone of OTRA is no doubt the fire-hot, hip shaking beats oozing out of percussionists Humberto ‘Pupi’ Menes and the always smiling Cristobal ‘El Canon’ on timbales. Together the soaring horns, propulsive grooves, and shake that a** sound make OTRA an unbeatable combination.” – Indeed! Check out their sound at www.otramusic.com- it lives up to their description!! - Veronica
To start my postings on the Studio 1482 one-drawing-a-day blogsite, I’ve put up one of the drawings I made at the New Orleans Jazz Fest in 2005. Our magazine, Go Do It, features my photo essay from New Orleans in the first issue (see it HERE) but the drawings I made there have been waiting their turn to be seen! This drawing was made at the zydeco tent at the festival. Zydeco is a type of Louisiana music that incorporates Blues, Cajun music, West African music, Caribbean music, French melodies…it’s a big stew of all the music I like! And people dance like crazy to it – all over the fields during Jazz Fest. The spirit is funky and fun…I had a funky fun time drawing this one, that’s for sure! I’ll be posting more of these drawings over the next few weeks, would love to hear your response - Veronica Lawlor, Studio 1482.
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