tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73505839038714144072024-03-14T11:54:16.974+01:00Paris to Delhi: A Travel PortfolioPrinceton sophomore Waqas Jawaid spends a summer living in Paris and Delhi, and working on a comparative painting and photography project. The project is funded by the Martin Dale '53 Award.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-50053856911676843242008-09-15T06:22:00.003+02:002008-09-15T06:39:04.653+02:00Classes have started at Princeton. I have settled into a rigorous schedule of academics and extracurriculars. And while the most adventurous summer of my life now seems like a distant episode, everyday of my life is colored and informed by that experience.The body of artwork I created over the summer will be exhibited later this year at Princeton. The drawings and photographs serve as excellent Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-9256306593000714942008-08-17T15:52:00.004+02:002008-08-17T15:59:00.189+02:00 28"x44" ~ pencil on paper No erasers were used in the making of these drawings. I have been meaning to do this for a long time: a huge sheet of paper on which I can illustrate the process rather than worrying about a finished painting. I think of the pencil lines as a skeleton which holds the image together, or like scaffolding thar props up the domes of the mosque. Another theme being explored Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-35235314914211905762008-08-16T10:24:00.002+02:002008-08-17T18:56:51.741+02:0028"x44" ~ pastel on paperEven though the girl in the drawing is blind, she was very eager to pose for this picture... I think it comes through.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-20551850099507357642008-08-13T22:05:00.007+02:002008-08-13T22:27:35.328+02:00So some time ago I tried something (which I thought was) very interesting and now it is finally ready to be viewed. It might be a little like going to the Modern Art museum in the Centre Pompidou and staring at three big, white, completely blank square canvases which have been carefully arranged next to each other on a large white wall. Such art either seems like a joke played by the artist to Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-77096417500810469202008-08-10T13:47:00.003+02:002008-08-10T13:53:02.101+02:00 11"x17" ~ watercolor on paperWaqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-57639509515225324332008-08-09T16:50:00.004+02:002008-08-09T19:58:48.678+02:00As the train started moving towards Paris, the fields began to transform into city. People would come in and leave at each stop, and soon the train became very full. I was focusing on individuals, noting what they were wearing, how they were conversing, and it was all foreign. Men and women dressed for work, teenagers with skin-tight jeans, arab girls with scarves, arab boys sporting alternative Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-79623922872583593992008-08-08T22:01:00.002+02:002008-08-08T22:07:15.188+02:00Sabeen sent me this photograph today, in an email titled "Waqas being a good citizen;)." It brought back memories from that last morning in Delhi. It was such a coincidence meeting her there, at the airport, and I didn't know she took a picture while I helped some Indians fill out their emigration forms. Their professions: mason, carpenter, plumber. They were going to work in Saudi Arabia for twoWaqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-36666386404936853962008-08-06T12:24:00.001+02:002008-08-06T12:27:18.545+02:0014 Juillet 200811"x17" ~ watercolor on paperWaqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-91775322317110473942008-08-06T08:16:00.002+02:002008-08-06T08:24:37.582+02:00approx. 11"x17" ~ watercolor on paperParis, Paris, Paris... the last is a carousel seen from the Eiffel Tower.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-13497667655436614492008-08-06T08:11:00.002+02:002008-08-06T08:16:00.174+02:00approx. 11"x17" ~ watercolor on paperThis is the famous church that Van Gogh painted in his last years. I started this when I was at Auvers-sur-Oise. It got all ruined and now here it finally is. I'll work from this and maybe develop some variations.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-17478567624309710202008-08-06T08:05:00.002+02:002008-08-06T08:11:32.321+02:00approx. 8.5"x11" ~ pastel on paperWaqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-64432953343705550022008-08-03T16:07:00.006+02:002008-12-09T10:42:18.058+01:00approx. 8.5"x11" ~ charcoal, pencil and pastel on paperThese mark a transition. I am moving away from Roman sculpture and starting to tackle the other subject that interested me in Paris - the cityscape and architecture in general, and rooftops in particular. I want to tell the story of how this magnificent city converses with the sky above. Hopefully this is something I can pursue in the Delhi Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-9691470194231585242008-08-03T16:03:00.002+02:002008-12-09T10:42:18.413+01:00approx. 8.5"x11" ~ watercolor on paperThis didn't photograph very well, but I'm putting it up anyway before it takes its place in my portfolio. This was done one evening in the studio mentioned in the previous post.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-79897006499272743952008-08-03T15:52:00.003+02:002008-12-09T10:42:18.705+01:00This wall in my college room in Paris (the room i liked to call my studio) served as a sort of record of my adventures in the Paris art world, and beyond. It was a way to add color to this perfect studio with white walls and a wooden floor, a fridge and a desk.The dilemma, however, was whether I should go out and explore the city or stay in and work. Because I had August to do a lot of the latterWaqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-9833255536633507392008-08-03T11:25:00.003+02:002008-12-09T10:42:18.815+01:0028"x44" ~ pen-and-ink, charcoal, and watercolor on paperThis is (arguably) the largest portrait I've ever done. It started off as a pen-and-ink drawing, and then charcoal was introduced, and then watercolor too found its way into it. It was one of those instances when there's music playing, and you're open to possibilities and you let the drawing dictate its own terms. It was fun.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-90719882276095561402008-08-02T08:11:00.004+02:002008-12-09T10:42:19.188+01:0028"x44" ~ pastel on paperAgain, it was the expression on his face preserved in silver that really intrigued me. Though I had initially planned to continue with charcoal, I thought color might be a good thing to delve in at this point. This sculpture too was in d'Orsay. Below are details of the same drawing.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-74576778599835690502008-08-02T08:06:00.001+02:002008-12-09T10:42:19.325+01:0011"x17" ~ watercolor on paperBefore working on these, the last time I painted in watercolor was 2 years ago.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-26341825244633596962008-07-31T07:21:00.005+02:002008-12-09T10:42:19.501+01:0018"x24" ~ charcoal on paperThis is my drawing of a sculpture in Musee d'Orsay. The sculpture is behind glass because it has been damaged and chipped off at several places. It's color is a decaying grey-green. Despite all that, it is full of energy, and the emotion it holds (is it sadness, ecstasy, pain, yearning?) transcends time and space.Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-28740395094646293742008-07-30T17:58:00.002+02:002008-12-09T10:42:20.532+01:00 I have put up some sketches as a more focused continuation of the sculpture theme. As I mentioned yesterday, I love to add narratives of my own to these. I couldn’t help, then, to bring some of these to life, merely by adding a dark spot in the eye. You can tell those apart from the sculpture, where the eyeballs are blank.You can also click here to view photography from the tomb of Abdullah Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-84281738493672384772008-07-29T19:01:00.013+02:002008-12-09T10:42:22.921+01:00The Moleskine sketchbook that Bronson gave me on my birthday has been a very close companion on my trip. Because I easily forget things, the sketchbook has served as a guide and reminder. It has notes, phone numbers, hand-drawn maps copied from the internet, sketches and drawings, and also journal entries. These entries are not really for anyone to see but just for me to look back to and recall Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-38648392363723321142008-07-28T16:55:00.004+02:002008-12-09T10:42:23.069+01:00The strangest thing happened. I suddenly find myself in my home in Karachi, even though I had planned to have tea with Aman somewhere in Delhi today.I got up this morning and decided to call Pakistan Airlines to make absolutely sure I would be flying out on Wednesday, July 30th. Ever since I had heard Jahnvi's horror story in which the airline refused to let her travel on an e-ticket, I had been Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-75209434368544343832008-07-27T13:35:00.005+02:002008-12-09T10:42:23.241+01:00I walked around Chandni Chowk and felt like Enoo from Taare Zameen Par. I wanted to see the Light and Sound Show at the Red Fort, but it was much later on, so I walked toward the Jama Masjid to find some food that was not McDonald’s.Pictures from the day can be found on Flickr.com by clicking here.As I passed shopkeepers, autos, bicycles and samosa stands, it suddenly became cloudy and dark; Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-45313477315416729292008-07-25T09:58:00.004+02:002008-12-09T10:42:23.334+01:00 The generally slow-paced life in India, the Delhi heat, and the fact that I am nearing the end of my journey (not to mention the slow internet) makes me more nostalgic, more indulgent, less likely to post on this blog every single day. Things come up, sometimes things so subtle and indescribable you cannot write about them because writing would be expressing it, and that would certainly fall Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-36972423895107896392008-07-23T08:42:00.003+02:002008-12-09T10:42:23.433+01:00 I visited Laxmi Narayan Mandir (temple) which is dedicated to various Hindu gods. I had to deposit shoes, camera, bag and cell phone outside and enter having been “physically and mentally” cleansed. The temple is also known as the Birla Mandir. It was built in 1938 and was inaugurated by Gandhi. I read about the meaning and history of the swastika sign and was ironically reminded of other placesWaqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7350583903871414407.post-4736548440456735022008-07-22T08:46:00.001+02:002008-12-09T10:42:23.555+01:00 I woke up with a sore throat and a slight fever on Sunday. I took immediate measures – got standard fever pills, took a cold shower, had hot clear vegetable soup, and when I felt better I went out into the burning heat of Delhi which was soothing. I had some errands to run – groceries, sending faxes, etc. Later that day, Uday took me and his friend Parth to watch a play at the India Habitat Waqas Jawaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08460302677183668267noreply@blogger.com0