sojuking

Friday, June 15, 2012

Udaipur, Rajasthan was where I grabbed my first henna cone. Luckily, it was tourist season and the city was full of travlers from every corner of the globe, anxious to donate their skin as canvas for the fun images in my brain.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Henna @ The Little Prince Restaurant in Udaipur

I get a tube of henna for 10 rupees., about twenty cents. The picture lasts on the skin for around five to seven days depending on how much you clean yourself. This is definitely a practice that I'll take back to Philly.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

From December 27, 2011 (first day in India)

I sat in my hotel room painting a small sign that read "मुक्त चित्र", google-translate's rendition of "free portrait". The year prior in Korea, my free portraits were a tool to help engage with a new community. It had been awesome in Korea so I figured it might just do the trick here in Mumbai... but why was I scared?

I left the Milan International Hotel in the northern suburb of Santa Cruz, a name I would have expected for a neighborhood in California. I was open, ready for social interaction and a learning experience. I got roughly twenty meters from the hotel entrance before being called at by a group of kids playing badminton on what appeared to be a pile of dirt covered in garbage, with a few cows watching over as referees.

"No fear, no rules" I told myself as I walked over to the group. I sat down on a ledge beside their game and pulled out my new sign, a clip board and a few sticks of graphite. "You can draw my picture?!" an enthusiastic boy shouts to me. "Yes?!" I reply, taken aback by his cool and confident use of my native tongue. He grabs a stool and positions it in front of the ledge with a smile on his face and a few younger children hanging on his arms. I got to work sketching. The war chiefs, the older children, maybe eleven or twelve years old, pulled out their old Nokia phones and started playing American pop music and talking about musicians that my uneducated brain had little knowledge of.

The kids all spoke English, were full power and awesome to hang out with. Afterwards they gave me a tour of their small neighborhood, introducing me to their moms and their cows.

VICTORY! Free portraits prevail once more!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Keeping the Party Goa-ing

I've been traveling through India for about a month now. My camera lens was eaten by beach sand so I have to rely on my models' smart-phones and unreliable wifi to help document my drawings. Luckily, Ankit's phone was not stupid. I'm uploading this photo at a travel agency in Palolem Beach, Goa. Free portraits are just as cool in India as they were in Korea. Aside from drawing faces, I've been spending a lot of time writing my journal. There are creative outlets all over the place!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

See You Later, Korea

I started with a simple question, "If you were retired, what would you be doing?" "I would be drawing portraits on the street." I didn't need to be retired to do it. I started on a cold Friday night in March in Hongdae. I drew my last portrait in Hongdae this Saturday afternoon for a model who was shivering on my stool. I've drawn with enthusiasm, with coffee or soju and I had a great time. Seoul provided minimal police interference and an interested audience to help me develop a routine and a pace for both making and studying art that I hope to keep for as long as I can hold a pencil (and maybe for a little longer after that).

Koreans, travelers and expats, thanks for approaching my "free portrait" sign with excitement. You've watched me draw, sat as my models and curiously took pictures as I drew as a gypsy on your streets. It has been more educational than any class at art school.

I love you Korea. I'll be back again someday, whether it's to earn some money teaching your kids or to eat some of your delicious food. Thank you for making alcohol so cheap.

<3 SojuKing

I'll continue the free portraits as I travel through India in the next few months. I'm excited to see how a "free portrait" sign is received in Hindi.