The Black Keys and The Beat Generation

The Black Keys doodle in charcoal. Property of Shanita Lyn. 

not done experimenting just yet. =)

this is a quick doodle of dan auerbach and patrick carney, who, when put together, are better known as the genius band called the black keys. here are some examples of their music... enjoy! 

this one is called howlin' for you:

this one is called tighten up (and is also my ringtone at the moment):

and this last one is called lonely boy:

i personally like the video for that one very much. =)

on another note, last night i had the honour of witnessing (and being the photographer for) a mind-blowing percussion performance called The Beat Generation. like, seriously. i've never witnessed something that insanely brilliant in my life. 

um... i'm trying to think of words to adequately express how amazing/insane/unbelievable/genius/wonderful/brilliant/phenomenal/extraordinary it was but nothing comes to mind. i'm speechless! it was seriously that good. 

but don't take my word for it -- check out The Indigo Soul Sessions facebook page for audio clips, videos and photos to be uploaded soon, and hit the 'like' button to stay updated on upcoming events. trust me -- you won't regret it. =)

Experiments

right. i've finally accepted the fact that i'm never going to be one of those people who updates their blog at least once a week because i'm just far too busy doing other things (read: lazy). =p

anyway!

this past week i've been (un)lucky enough to have the flu, meaning i had to miss my july tests at school and stay home. but i'm not one to sit around and twiddle my thumbs. 

so i wrapped myself up snug in a pink shawl, nicked an old copy of i-D magazine from my dad's collection, and, for the first time, tried my hand at drawing a portrait in ballpoint pen. it didn't turn out that bad, actually. =)

Rihanna, blue ballpoint pen on regular drawing paper. Property of Shanita Lyn. 

i was pretty pleased with the result, though my poor ballpoint pen is just about ready to retire. 

the next day as i rummaged around in my art shelf, i found the set of kiddie markers my sister and i had bought (because they were cheap and there were no less than 24 pretty colours in there). Hoho! thinks me, and so i brought the set to our shop and put them to use making another drawing of rihanna. well, two of them, at least. 

Rihanna drawing in black and grey marker on regular drawing paper. Property of Shanita Lyn. 

my sister says that out of all the drawings i've ever done, in any medium, this is her favourite (daww). =)

i also did some experimenting with oil pastels, coloured pencils and charcoal, but i don't have a photo of that to upload. sorry. maybe some other time. 

though i do have one more doodle to share. i did this one in my 'journal', based on the perks of being a wallflower poster which i saw for the first time that day. =)

written around the outlines in blue are the details of the live webchat the cast had on the 3rd of june. i managed to catch the last few minutes of it. =)

as for my life so far, it's been pretty darn awesome. Indigo has been much more active recently, organising events and such, and, as part of the Indigo family, i get the privilege of tagging along for everything and generally just being a busybody in the guise of a photographer. the Indigo family is growing bigger and bigger as we welcome ever more lovely and talented people into our lives. if you'd like to become a part of it, check out our facebook pages! 

the indigo soul sessions is where the music's at.

indigo lifestyle and fashion boutique is where we hang out.

and the indigo soul project is for all the creative souls out there, whether you're an artist, writer, dancer, musician, educator, chef, designer, jewellery maker, potter, craftsperson, doodler, imagineer, saree enthusiast, or oddball of any sort, like us. we also have a website, in case you wanna be an active member of the family. =)

well then, that's about it for now! see you at the next blue moon. =p

Short Stories and Island Holidays

hello!

and yet again, apologies for my long absence. i'm a rubbish blogger, and as always, i shall now try to change my ways and update often, though i can't guarantee that i'll keep that promise. 

the day before yesterday, we got back from a six-day trip to langkawi. but instead of blogging about it in typical fashion, i've decided to upload it in a series of posts resembling a short story or essay or novella. these posts shall be interspersed with video clips, photographs and artwork i created to further enhance my tale-telling. =)

i may or may not take a couple of artistic liberties with the narration of the story, but i will try as much as possible to stick to the truth and avoid too many excursions into the realm of fiction. 

so i'll end this post here, but be sure to check in for the story posts! =D
p/s: remember how i mentioned one direction in the last post? my previous non-mainstream-loving status has been destroyed by these five lads. but i can't say i'm complaining, really. =p
in the meantime, here's a beautiful song called "swell window" by zee avi which was on constant replay during our stay in langkawi. enjoy!

Back to life, back to reality

photo via weheartit

well, hello. =)

now that the new school year has started and i find myself a 4th form student, the picture above pretty much explains how i feel every morning. it also explains how addicted i've become to weheartit, which has to be one of the best discoveries i've made online in a long time.

only three weeks into the school year and i'm already fed up with the long boring hours spent sitting in class. i like the homework though -- everything seems interesting to me now that i'm learning new subjects, and i seem to have grown particularly fond of additional mathematics... i know, right?! this from the girl who's spent more than half her school life complaining about math. i still complain about math, actually, just not add math. =p

the highlight of my life recently has been a certain project we've been working on. i've gotten the chance to meet up with some amazing people, including dancers, artists and photographers, as well as going to some great new places i've never seen the likes of in my life, and this project is now also going to provide us with a ticket to london and amsterdam! i can't wait to travel with this bunch of awesome people to a bunch of equally awesome places.

oh, and one more thing before i go... have you heard of a band called one direction? i'm not sure whether i like them or not... their music isn't really to my taste, but i seem to find it a worthy pastime to watch videos of the guys mucking around behind the scenes and stuff.

oh dear, i think i've found my guilty pleasure. =/

Built of Books

apologies for my extremely long absence!
so much has happened since my last post. i won't write them all down here, but the most eventful would probably have to be the fact that my pmr exams are finally over, and after the results come out next friday, i will never have to worry about them ever again. hallelujah!

anyway, this is only going to be a short post, as i have a ton of projects to get back to, but i simply had to share this book with you.

it's called built of books: how reading defined the life of oscar wilde, and it is without a doubt the best biography i have read in my entire life. not that i've read many biographies, but don't let that deter you from picking up a copy of this book. it's beautifully written, allowing you to get a feel of what life was really like for the great mr. wilde, more like a novel than a biography, and if it were my own copy, instead of a borrowed one (it belongs to my friend-aunt), you would definitely find me with my nose buried in it more often than not. as it is, i've filled half of a notebook with passages that i simply can't allow myself to forget.
words fail me beyond this point. it's that good. so go read it, immerse yourself in the life and mind of one of the greatest writers to ever walk the face of the earth. trust me, you won't regret it.