Author: Khadeja Ali

I draw things.

Island Beauty

Lucky me! I’m currently visiting my home country of Mauritius. I drew this before arriving; not as a landscape that directly resembles features of the geography, but as an ode. As I’m sitting in the car on drives around the island, these are the impressions I get: green mountains, bodies of water, the curves of the landscape.

Now that I am here, I am too entranced by this place to draw! But my feelings of awe are side by side with sadness. We humans truly do not deserve this beautiful land. We never have. Since we arrived hundreds of years ago, we plundered the Dodo and many more of nature’s gifts. I fear that soon, these drawings and whatever is stored in our minds may be all that is left.

Snake obsession

After looking at some scroll paintings of the Zen monk Sesshu Toyo, I was inspired by the black ink patterns in some of his work, especially his clouds. I doodled for a while, and ended up creating some weird snakes.

(Click on the image to see it all big n pretty ;))

I have always loved and found snakes beautiful, soulless as their eyes look. What an awesome mix of gorgeous and scary! I love drawing them, and I’m really happy with these.

Her tears are tearing

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus due to a huge life event that just happened – my wedding. I didn’t do much drawing or posting here or on Twitter (@khadejalidraw) but right now I’m slowly getting back into things.

I thought I’d start with a sentimental piece, to jump right in!

drawing of decorated connected eyebrows over two thickly lashed eyes. two ladel-shaped abstractions are hanging back to back, with the "spoon" parts facing outwards. on the right, the ladle is filled with water and a thick tear runs from the right eye into it. The left ladle has eyes made out of nooses.
“Her Tears are Tearing”

I’m pretty darn sensitive; most definitely a crier. This piece is about how my extreme emotional states are a beauty and a burden.

There are some things that should be kept to the viewer. However, there is something behind this work that informed my lines. The lens with which I see my life isn’t just coloured by my emotions. My emotions are the lens.

Resilient Hero

Video games. I play them a lot. I’m reluctantly close to the end of Spider-Man and I’m already thinking about what I’m going to play next.

Something that comes up over and over in video games, often very tediously, is the story of the hero. I get it for the most part, even if this narrative and character can seem repetitive in game after game.

No matter what I say though, I can’t deny how drawn (full pun intended) I am to the hero and their journey, just like everyone else.

So here’s my hero:

black pen drawing of abstract shapes filled in with patterns that come together to depict a hero character balancing on a platform, surrounded by intimidating shapes that surround the hero.
Obviously, platformers are on my mind

Sexless, abstract, colourless. Yep, that’s my hero!

I specifically thought about games like Ninja Gaiden (FULL DISCLOSURE: never played it, only watched) and Risk of Rain (played the ever-loving crap out of it) where you are stuck in between all these enemies and obstacles, and you die over and over trying to get past them.

For this drawing, I chose not to have a clear path for the hero to traverse, which is common in the type of game I’m thinking of. Instead, we see a paused image of them defending themselves stoically against all kinds of nameless terrors.

We all have heroic qualities that we are drawn to, and mine is resilience. That’s what I tried to get across. The hero is reaching out between what is thrown at them to show that they recognise an opening – and they won’t be surrounded by all this crap for much longer.

It might be one of my more empowering works!

Cosmic portrait

abstract art depicting a face with two eyes, nose, mouth, neck and chest made up of different geometric shapes, patterns, and miniature drawings of space, planets, the Earth, stars, moons, waves, and threads.

I gave myself a challenge to draw something based on the word “universe” and as I drew, I came up with the shapes that made up this face. The universe as a face isn’t something I’ve thought of before, but since seeing the universe in someone’s face is a romantic notion (and I’m a sucka for that), I went with it. And I’m happy with how it came out!

I don’t like overly explaining my imagery. However, I feel comfortable saying that a lot of what makes up this face are small portrayals of the universe from the Earth, through the atmosphere, all the way to space.

Something I enjoyed doing was hiding little “surprises” here and there; little drawings within drawings. Every time I found a place for one, I went for it. There’s something special about knowing that people out there will find them, you know?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one, I was really excited for a chance to share it!

Cave altar

As those of you who have checked out my other posts (thank you!) notice, I’ve been drawing more places. It comes so easily! This work started as nothing but a pile of flat squares and turned into a peacefully inviting place very organically. This truly ended up being a version of a place where I would feel comfortable and at peace.

It’s somewhat wild, but still protected. Not dark, with a hint at candlelight (which I consider to be very warm light). Remnants of others who came before me. A little creature to keep me company…

However, this peaceful solitude isn’t all I’m about. “Peace” is personal, and complicated. When I’m searching for peace, I’m not always looking for the same thing for every situation. Sometimes I want silence and being alone, but at other times peace is found while cuddling in front of a TV, or listening to some dope music…

When I create art, I’m showing facets of myself. I’m sure I’ve said that before in one of my other posts, or something like it. This drawing is a perfect example of a part of me.

A Foreign Home

I love to create my own fantasy foreign lands.

(Well, they’re not really foreign to me, I guess – they’re my fantasy worlds, after all.)

Anyway, there’s nothing more stimulating to me than mapping out a new place with its own unique culture. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember.

This drawing is a reflection of one of the places I came up with. It’s so satisfying to see your world in a physical form. It feels so much more concrete now; and exciting!

Finally, me

pencil sketch drawing of left hand next to self-portrait sketched in pencil with "KAM 2018 (#1)" written lightly in small size font in top center
Sketches of me and my hand

It’s the scariest thing in the world, to put yourself out there – especially not your “best self.”

I find drawing myself very difficult. It’s also not something that I find as interesting as say, creating a fantasy creature or plant. So, I don’t do it often.

However, I do also enjoy forcing myself to do things I am uncomfortable with. And while I personally don’t think I look like the drawing, I see myself in it anyway, so I’m pleased with it.

It may be interesting that I recognize my hand more than my face in these drawings. Then again, how often do you look at your face? I constantly look at my hands. So this says something about me that I don’t even notice too much about myself.

So, why would I show something on my website that I am not too happy with? Because these sketches force me to confront myself, from the process of drawing to the viewing of it. Things run through my head like memories and personal philosophies. The obvious example: it made me think back to college when I took that one drawing class and did terribly – but gained further understanding of the things I did want to draw. Even now when I look at it, I think about how I see myself, and then how the world sees me. It’s deep stuff!

See? Even in mistake-riddled works, there is value. I say show it all.

Sun Emperor

abstract pencil drawing that shows cloud-like figure with abstract crown, laying with the sun as a backdrop

So I made this pencil drawing a while ago, and I don’t exactly remember my thought process. What I do remember is contemplating, at some point before this was made, how many historical leaders and deities are associated with the Sun. It’s a perfect symbol for power and greatness, so no surprise – but I think the fact that this association has remained through literal millennium is pretty cool.

As I drew this Emperor, I kept them non corporeal, with limited shape and form, to represent how the sun is a spherical shape even as it is constantly undulating. I also remember thinking I wanted the figure to be read as either male or female, leaving it to the viewer.

I’d work on more creatures of the Sun in the future if it continues to inspire me. It’s certainly an interesting theme!