Charlie Bit Me? (Never! He’s Too Sweet…)
Hello! Greetings from my part of the world to yours.
Have you ever had a bad creative block and didn’t know what to draw, write, or paint? Have you ever struggled to find inspiration?
Well, I was having a day like that a few months ago. I decided to sit outside in nature and read a book to stop twisting myself in knots over what to draw next.
I thought I heard a sound and figured that one of my sons was sneaking up on me.
Suddenly a giant donkey nose was in my face! We two curious beings stared at each other in surprise for a moment.
I was in love.
I later learned (just this week) that the big-eyed donkey who was the inspiration behind my drawing, “Kick Ass Donkey” last November has a name!
Say hi to Charlie. We’ll have to go back to Kuti Wildlife Reserve to see him again soon. *You can see the drawing in more detail here.
New UNFPA Illustrations and Animation Now Up
Recently it was International Women’s Day on March 8th. The purpose of the day is to uphold women’s achievements, recognize challenges, and focus greater attention on women’s rights and gender equality.
You may or may not be familiar with the Nthambi series I created in collaboration with my Malawian colleagues for The United Nations Population Fund.
In 2019 we created characters that represent some of the different beneficiaries of their programs. UNFPA is the UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide.
In this latest episode, I did the artwork and animation, and my students from my recent Digital Media Accelerator course I taught for UNFPA wrote the script and helped with the photos and videos.
Have a look!
What Else is New?
Live From Lilongwe… It’s Monday Morning!
In this short video that was recorded live, I show a new drawing I’m working on of a gentle giant. Plus I explain how I find inspiration as well as decide what to make next without blowing a fuse. I also show the archival papers I use and why some are better than others.
Well, that’s all for now! Hope you have a great day and week ahead.
Stay well. Be well.
Best wishes,
-Kristen
Shout out to Jorge T. of Mlambe Adventure Safaris who got his hands on a canvas print printed locally in Lilongwe by Homesphere Printing.
He writes, “Whenever I visit our office, I will always be smiling to see it. I love the colors!” 🙂
P.S. If you’d like to see work in progress and behind the scenes studio stuff, please follow me on Instagram. See you there!
I'm an artist and educator seeking to empower ordinary people to do extraordinary things.