Newtown Ikasi Sketches

It's been a busy time. I guess this is to prove that I have still been productive. I have been feeling a little less inspired than normal over the past few months to paint. I have also realised the need for me to be drawing people more. It's essential to keep up the skill and discipline of drawing as this is the base of all art – you need to know how to draw before you sculpt and paint. My favourite mediums to draw in are charcoal and chalk pastel. I have used these two mediums in the sketches below.

You may also be wondering about the title of this post. Ikasi is the slang word for township in South Africa. We live just 2km away from the township called Newtown. I can't explain the reason for my deep interest and fascination with townships, or the need to understand the people in a township. But all I know is that I am able to express my obsession through drawing and painting. There are so many different stories to be told, some of heartache, some of tragedy but also some of hope and joy. My hope is to capture these stories.

The following two pictures are drawn on Canson Paper, using chalk pastel. I used reference pictures from Newtown for these drawings.

Newtown Sketch Number 1
May 2011
(Chalk Pastel on Canson Paper)

Newtown Sketch Number 2
May 2011
(Chalk Pastel on Canson Paper)

I asked a couple of our (my husband and I) friends to pose for me. They are currently living in Newtown. After this sketch (Newtown Sketch Number 3), that took about 40-50minutes, they were ready to collapse.

Newtown Sketch Number 3
June 2011
(Charcoal on Cartridge Paper)

This is the second drawing of our friends. This sketch was more of an exercise to see whether I could capture them and get the right proportions of their bodies in the shortest amount of time. The bodies turned out alright, but the faces... need some work!

Newtown Sketch Number 4
June 2011
(Charcoal on Cartridge Paper)

This is the last and most recent sketch. I did not use any reference pictures for this sketch, but I did sketch it out of my memory. On more than one occasion of visiting Newtown, I have seen boys riding on their home-fixed bikes. It really appealed to my soul, so I decided to record it in my own style.

Newtown Sketch Number 5
July 2011
(Charcoal on Cartridge Paper)

Please contact the artist if you are interested in any works on this blog at: artist@christytempies.co.za.
Visit my website: http://www.christytempies.co.za
All content and images copyright © Christy Tempies, 2011. All rights reserved.