BATIK ART BY LUKANDWA DOMINIC

This weekend, I'm challenging myself with painting a batik inspired by Masai necklaces (one of many I've done before). Whereas I've previously been using a multicolor approach, this time I aim to use one color theme RED with varying shades and tones. The end product I hope will be a series of necklaces in a bundle separated by light and dark red, yellow, brown and black shades. Doing what I enjoy doing Waxing before dyeing with Red 3 Having added Red 3, this batik is slowly coming to life.

Finally I've been able to finish this little batik titled THE KING (2010) 15"X15". I started this project 2 weeks ago and am already pleased with the result. I wanted to surround the king with riches and glamour as he sat on his throne. I was trying to portray him as a lonely chap despite all the riches. As I did this picture I remembered an incident one morning in 2005 watching a big SUV carrying the prince of Toro Kingdom to school. At the time he was referred to as the youngest king in the world, he was seated in the back with an armed policeman and a driver. I couldn't help but to think that he was lonely despite all the royal treatment he was getting. This batik is not for sale.

I was seated at the back seat of a taxi when I saw a group of ladies arguing at a fruit market. I was able to observe intently because of a traffic hold up we were in. One of them nodded as she pulled out her pulse and handed over a pink shilling note. At this moment the saleslady was beaming with a smile as she waved them off. One of them lifted a bunch of bananas and the others followed her to a waiting car a short distance infront of us. What I didn't paint in this picture is that the sales lady at the stall began acting in a way that showed something was wrong. She was keenly inspecting a pink shilling note flipping it over and holding it up. Our taxi began to move on behind a line of other vehicles, one of which belonged to the ladies who had bought a bunch of bananas at the stall. Then suddenly the sales lady came with the note in her hand shouting that the money was a counterfeit. The line began moving faster and she was banging on the trunk but the car did not stop. As we...