Asiya Nasir on the Martyrdom of Shaheed Shahbaz Bhatti

All the people of Pakistan are suffering the results of a concerted effort to bully the populace into not speaking out against the blasphemy laws and other injustices. Many Muslims have also been murdered under the pretext of accusations made under this law. The Governor of Punjab was himself assassinated recently for speaking out as was a Muslim man who had been aquitted in a blasphemy case a year ago.

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Masjid Wazir Khan


I didn't manage to find Masjid Wazir Khan during my trip to Pakistan last summer. It's one of the places I wanted to visit, but did not have the time to track down. I drew this sketch off of a photo today.

I was going to draw various types of workers in honor of International Worker's Day (May 1st). I managed to sketch this coal mine worker from Pakistan. The back faced figure is from a small show I went to over the weekend.

Lastly, I sketched some Pakistani children's faces. It's very difficult to sketch the cute, innocent faces of small children. The lines are very delicate and it's all too easy to over do it. So here's some practice.

Kasur and Lahore


Here are some quick sketches from photoes I took on my trip to Pakistan. A mentally handicapped man at Bulleh Shah's Urs and some children working as runners at a general store in Lahore. My friend Usman Khokher was kind enough to track down the kids and give them prints I sent after returning home. Thanks!

Shah Jamal


Last summer, while in Lahore, Pakistan, I visited the shrine of Shah Jamal. Every thursday night, they have some dhol players (including Pappu Sain) perform there. The air tends to be a bit...thick, but it is quite an amazing thing to see. Here's a drawing I did today, based on some photo refs and my memory. The guy with the big fat one is from my memory.

Old Lahore Watercolor


Just getting back into watercolors. I painted the same image of the old part of Lahore in a few different ways. For the first one, I sketched out the scene in pencil then painted (building layer upon layer) and added some black marker at the end. For the rest I did no drawing, just straight painting. I felt like I had enough of a feel for it after doing the first one that I didn't need to draw it in with pencil. For the second image I just laid down some light washes and built up value a little, then went in with marker for details. For the third and fourth versions I just painted one cool and warm and the other monochromatic. I want to work on landscapes and city scenes for a bit...take a breather from drawing my poor co-workers...