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| 4/8/17 brush pen, colored pencils |
My niece Alix is a member of San Jose Taiko, one of the most well-known and highly acclaimed
professional American taiko groups. When I heard that SJT was giving a concert
in the Seattle area, my siblings and I organized a family reunion around the
concert date so that we could all attend. And I invited Kate along too, because I knew she was a big fan of taiko!
What a blast of energy those eight drummers produce! Their
innovative percussion rhythms combined with dynamic choreography are spectacular.
They also look like they are having so much fun that they infuse their
performance with sheer joy.
I tried my best to capture the spirit of that energy with
a brush pen, and I found that I had to use techniques I’ve been teaching myself
by sketching small birds at our feeder.
Like birds, taiko drummers repeat movements rapidly but rhythmically, so if you
just wait a bit, the pose you started to sketch will appear again – maybe by
the same drummer, or maybe by a different one.
The photos from my phone aren’t the best quality, but I hope
they help to convey some of San Jose Taiko’s kinetic music!
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| Alix front and center! |
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| Proud auntie and uncle! |
Nice work! You use the brushpen to great effect. You can feel the way the performers are contributing to a shared energy while expressing their individual styles.
ReplyDeleteMatthew
Thank you, Matthew! Good to hear from you!
DeleteThe simple brush lines conveys the energy of the performers in a wonderful way! I think I will dust off my brush pen now. Looks like it was a spectacular performance too!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Brush pens are always my go-to when fast lines are needed!
DeleteLooks like a fun filled, energy filled performance. You did well capturing their movements.
ReplyDelete