She draws it.
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.
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!
Khadeja Ali draws 