Ab Solomons' Wage Packets Sketchs in Sydney Festival

Friends, we, ordinary people's lives are all precious and unique. Ab, a shoemaker kept drawing small sketches with short sentences on wage packets. What a practical and romantic way Ab did, the art on wage bags for his wife, Celie! A real work size is smaller than my palm like playing cards. The record of love was from 1920 to 1980s. 

The drawings are full of history and love.

Ab, a shoemaker was Jewish. His cute drawings show war, Hitler, religion, sickness, new technology = telly, movie, video, etc, etc. Above all, their relationship! First, they were a young couple, had two sons, conflicts between the couple, but they still loved each other till Ab had a bored head, Celie with wrinkles, a double bed changed into separated single beds... etc, etc. So, sweet and many ups and downs, but a very commical depiction makes viewers smile and laugh. 

Technically, the drawings develop a wonderful style from stick figures with a pen to bright watercolour, full of humour, wit, heartwarming writings. Oh, it touched my heart. Already the drawings have become a theatre play.

I always feel the beauty of old couples. I can see their long history and love in their body language.... It is wonderful. I love them all and admire them. We cannot stay together forever. In our human relationship, we have journey and separation, yet, the triumph of love over everything... Love is the miracle on earth. If so, we have miracles here, there, everywhere. I'm sure many unknown Ab and Celie should be here, there and everywhere. Ab has successfully captured love and life on his wage packets. Yes, that's what I want to depict in my work, too.

Like Ab did, I want to capture ordinary people's lives in ordinary ways...with love. In this post, I just uploaded my daily sketches of "us, ordinary people." Paradox. It's extraordinary, because an individual is so precious and unique. Yet, we are universal and common. So, we can share our emotions in art work. Technically, my work might not be standing out nor being sophisticated. But if my work has love, it will touch others hearts, like Ab did. The opposite is true, as well.  We sometimes forget technically astonishing work in a few minutes, becuase it did not have love and would not reach at our hearts. We know, even a clumsy work with love, that reaches our heart will remain in us forever -- I often experience it in the work done by children, nameless people and people with disabilities. 

In my solo exhibition, I want to show the best selection of my daily sketches as well as picture book illustrations! I hope visitors will smile and giggle at the sketches. 

I do not mean to create a masterpiece. I want to draw us, ordinary people with love. I want to show the beauty of being imperfect and special in YOU, Friends!  

Friends, Happy Painting!  

Ab Solomons' Wage Packets Sketchs in Sydney Festival