A little taste of Figueira da Foz

Nothing like getting started

In the day of the Equinox, I start to tell you about my latest little trip.

First night at Figueira da Foz (a.k.a. just Figueira) city, where I have spent so many Summers of my life with my family.

It's been a while, since I last came to this city. I was so happy. It kinda felt like, as if a member of my body came back to its right place. I was v-i-s-c-e-r-a-l-l-y happy to be there!

It was warm and raining like hell, and I felt like the grey and the fog were so mysterious, so according to my mood to unfold my personal images behind the steam of this trip. Come rain or come shine, my love for Figueira felt unshakeable.

View to the Good Voyage Mountain from Buarco's beach ® Rita Draper Frazão

Next morning, the Sun was shining. And uau! There are so many things to do and my will was of doing them all!

Cova's Beach ® Rita Draper Frazão

Eating Rosquilhas from Dona Irene in the Market, was a top priority. It's a must whenever I arrive and when I leave too, since I always bring some, extra packages of these, home. Rosquilhas are a kind of salty cracker, with the shape of the waves on it. Its flavor is poetic enough to make it unforgettable. It is a local specialty you can only get there, and that you can't miss. They go great with coffee, cheese, olives, or jam.

In the Market ® Rita Draper Frazão

Going to the market itself is a nice experience as well: its smell, the colors and most of all, the nice people who work there. This shot was taken inside the market. The cloths you see are the ones used in the beach, like these:

Relógio's Beach ® Rita Draper Frazão

The Stunning Architecture

I can never get tired of the street type and the architecture of this place, especially the one in Bairro Novo (The New Block).

Pretty much inspired by the Art Deco, its classic features started to be built around the fort of Saint Catherine (in the image above), in the end of the XIXth century, along to the 50's. I think this part of town, is one of the treasures of this vacationer destination. The sculpture in the lake is Preguiça (laziness) a piece of art made by Laranjeira Santos that became an icon of Figueira.

But there is plenty more to see. This green one is one of my favorite buildings in Figueira da Foz. The green and the white flowers inspired us, when kids, to call it The cauliflower house.

Also love this one! It's in one of my favorite streets, the freedom street - Rua da Liberdade, also known among me and my cousins, as The Tree Street (Rua das Árvores). 

Both examples were built by César Caniceiro da Costa around the 30's decade.

There are many more interesting examples of a very picturesque architecture, but just for you to have an idea of the interest of the matter, several people wrote phd and master thesis about this topic.

Figueira makes you feel in a way, like you're living in another era. Its glamour and ghostly feel, are symbols of a city whose heart beats at the sound of one of its main attractions, the Casino. Yes, this is not only a beautiful district,  Bairro Novo is also the place where you can have fun by excellence. Night life definitely happens here. 

The Night we call it a day

Drawing made in one of the R.S. Bar's rooms ® Rita Draper Frazão

And one of the places where I had a blast was at the Red Shoes Bar (R.S.). 

The name came after Bowie's Let's dance lyrics but when I got in there, I also connected it, with Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz, or something like it, as I drew here, years ago.

This is a place where literature, cinema and music are major hosts. The place is packed with references, pictures of movies, sentences from some notable writers like Oscar Wilde, Fernando Pessoa, Charles Bukowski, and lyrics from Tom Waits or David Bowie, just to name a few. For my happiness, one of the rooms is even named The writers room (Sala dos escritores).

On the upper floor, try some of the cocktails and shoo your sins at the Confessional Room (Confessionário). I was mesmerized with the colors of the vitral and the dance of the barmaid while doing them - her movements were as mechanical as beautiful. 

My favorite spot, where I have stayed a while doing the drawing above, was The white room.

If you're into indie music and rock you can't miss this spot! 

Praise the Holy Mountain

Sounds like it's not just for me, that Figueira is a city of poems, of poets and of Literature. Its literary quality, starts with the name of its stunning saw - Serra da Boa Viagem (Good Voyage Mountain). It was named after the Catholic Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem (Our Lady of the Good Voyage), who is patroness of fisherman and travelers. It is many times represented with a boat and can include some blue color on the vests too.

View to the Mountain from Murtinheira's beach ® Rita Draper Frazão

Over the years, I have done drawings, texts and had many dreams just because of the name of this Mountain. In my personal memories, it means the lighthouse, the smell of pine trees, heather plant and dew, one beach at each side of this mountain, the breeze in your face while you are curving the roads, the freshness of an adventurous trip in a good spirit. It's there. It's all there.

Also Abadias Park (Jardim das Abadias) is a place I like to go to, watch the birds and occasionally see an exhibition or show. That is possible because, Abadias is where Cae (Figueira's Cultural Centre) is too, so you can mix several possibilities here: jogging, riding a bike, playing with your kids, doing a pic nic, see some art or go to a concert... you choose! 

All the above mentioned are reasons to love Figueira da Foz, but along with those I have some very personal ones too. It was the place where I first heard Melvins, and Mile's Tutu; where I saw some of Nanni Moretti's films, read Aparição from Vergílio Ferreira, first heard about Mad Love (L´amour Fou) by André Breton and where I saw a major Solar Eclipse in 1999 in a really special place. 

Seems fair enough to start with an Equinox and end with a Solar Eclipse. I have strong reasons to always come back to Figueira da Foz, and I know I'm not the only one. 

The truth is... I already miss it!

Fall in love story

This is a drawing I have made in 2002.  It is an interpretation of the song I fall in love too easily, made famous, by Chet Baker. 

These type of machines where very popular, in Portugal. You'd insert a coin and get an openable ball with a little present inside. On this one, I made mine, hearts from different colors - passions with several shades. I made it in a pastry shop, close to my high school, during a break time. 

I dedicated it and, afterwords, offered it to my cousin Lena (aka Prima Lena) - a person who owned a bookshop that sold music and other things as well. She was one of the responsible persons for my interest in poetry, literature, photography and music. 

Long sunny afternoons, have I spent in her bookshop's attic, and at her cinematographic house, drawing her. She dedicated her whole life to the others and to letters. 

As a child and a teen, she offered me gifts such as great quality watercolors (I still use in my work nowadays), books like Masters of Jazz , Modern Art 1905-1945, Aparição from Vergílio Ferreira; several music albums of Chet Baker, Tutu album, from Miles Davis or Mucha posters, just to name a few. She is a source of endless fascination in my life who certainly contributed for my great passion for all these things. 

She passed away some years ago but left in me an anchor of beauty and sense, given by all the authors and great memories she made me get in touch with. 

This article is dedicated to all the loving persons in the world.

To those whom it might mean something, happy Valentine's day :)

Inner Tour

Back in the days, me and my dear friend Teresa grabbed our heavy backpacks and inter railed around Europe visiting friends and making new ones too. We visited several cities in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Austria and this drawing above was made on our way to Linz.  Seven years later, Teresa now lives in Australia and I miss her to bits.

I am sharing this today because it was because of this drawing called Viagem Interior (Inner Tour) that this blog has that name. And today is a special day for my blog.

It was some years ago, from 2010 to 2011, after spending some time living and traveling in Brazil, that I decided to make public this blog.

In the beginning it was just a mean to share some of the pictures and drawings I had made with family and friends that were around several places, but, over time, I started posting older works and publishing new ones too.

It was a blog with my images, and I didn't spoke much about it. It was something I did in a part time mode, whenever I had free time. Now it has became an almost full time job.

After presenting this project in Conversas in 2012, people asked that I should start telling the stories behind my images on the blog too, and so I started writing and sharing my thoughts and stories along with drawings and photos I made.

Two years afterwords, traveling, arts and people are still the thing that moves me, and today I am happy to say I have reached over 20000 views in this blog and over 2000 likes on my facebook page!

Visitors from all around the world keep seeing Inner Tour, that has today readers from Portugal, Russia, Austria, South Africa, Japan, Iceland, Spain, Romania, Germany, Estonia, Argentina, Turkey, India, Switzerland, Israel, The Netherlands, Qatar, Vietnam, Denmark, Thailand, Sweden, Colombia, Norway, Chile, Italy, Hong Kong, USA, Hungary, Bulgaria, China, Cape Verde, France, Canada, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, UK, Finland, Panama, Brazil, Ireland, Pakistan, Angola, Poland, Taiwan, Serbia, Czech Republic, Singapore, Senegal and many others.

I have to mention all the persons that shared their art, knowledge and life with me, that inspired me at all means, and believed in my work; and all my friends and family who have accompanied me in this Inner Tour too.

This blog turned out to be one of the nicest surprises in my life. It is a blessing and you are the reason why I do it. THANK YOU!!

Inner Tour Blog featured in Ilustração Contemporânea Portuguesa

Inner Tour Blog is featured today in Ilustração Contemporânea Portuguesa Facebook page, dedicated to promote Contemporary Portuguese Illustration. Great work these guys are doing.

Check it out here!

Lamparina Art Residency Catalog is now available

This summer I had the privilege to participate in the Lamparina Art Residency that culminated in an exhibition in Alandroal - Nas Margens de Lucefecit | Experimentar o Lugar.

If you don´t have a clue what I'm talking about, take a look at the article I wrote about it in June.

Congratulations Ana João Almeida and Sérgio Carronha for the organization, idea, hard work and motivation and the 16 artists that participated: João Rolaça, Francisco Costa, Catherine Henke, Rita Garcia, Manuela Domingues, Nuno Almeida, João Mouro, Maja Escher, Tiago Raimundo, Joana Reais, Mariana Veloso, Sérgio Fernandes, Fernando Roussado, Jorge André Catarino, Pedro Coelho and me. It was a success!

The e-catalogue is ready and you can check all the beautiful works done, here.

The days and the nights of João Botelho

The nights of João Botelho

João Botelho is one of Portugal's acclaimed auteur cinema directors. His new project is the film Os Maias, based on the novel, with the same title by Eça de Queiroz - a masterpiece of Lusophone literature. To give life to the story he chose some of our elite actors. The result is a film that premiered on the 11th of September, and is already one of the Portuguese third most watched films of the year, with already over 40 000 spectators.

Sábado Magazine interviewed Botelho to know a little bit more about him and his last full-length film so I will not extend too much on this topic because you can get all you need to know in the fun and ironic article written by Raquel Lito and see all the important moments of the interview with the beautiful photos taken by Marisa Cardoso. You'll have the chance to read the online report version later or you can buy the magazine, that is out today, here. 

Making The nights of João Botelho

Making The days of João Botelho

It was real fun to do this work, specially the one with the hand where I needed his active participation. After all, I was drawing live my favorite Portuguese film director. 

I pictured João Botelho in diptych mode, with day and night versions.

On the night drawing above, the vague blue was the inflated air representing the perennial hours, the never that might be tomorrow.

The days of João Botelho

Right handed, João Botelho, lent me for this drawing one of his framing tools. Verbiage elevated to the level of a terrace never has been an obstacle to have an open window to see the poetry of the sky.

Although he told me he rarely remembers his dreams, I think his films have the ability to make others do so, including me. Long live films like João Botelho's - His composition sense is remarkable and his films are living light paintings. If you're not familiar with his work, it is worth to check.

Thank you Raquel for inviting me :) It was so cool to collaborate with such nice team players, Raquel Lito and Marisa Cardoso, both talented people with a "ready to work" attitude.

All photographs on this post are from Marisa Cardoso and were used with her permission

Relax in Ericeira

Last weekend was time for a break in Ericeira. I'm sharing here my favorite things there, the drawings I've done about it and some of what I have learned too.

Its name Ericeira, comes from Ouriceira, the land of sea ​​urchins (Ouriço = Urchin in Portuguese).
One stumbles into these sea urchins till today, and while going to the Empa beach, I was amazed by the beauty of the colors of the varied sea weeds present there. Light brownish kelp, light green, red and garnet sea weeds, the color palette seemed a living watercolor.
I took a garnet one as a memento to this beauty and did this drawing: the beautiful see weed that amazed me by its color, who happens to be side by side to the sea urchins (which I chose to draw the shell) who gave name to the famous Ouriços, the typical cupcake from Ericeira.

It was a delight to eat those while there! I have tasted several and my favorite ones where the Ouriços from Café Central made by Manuela Estevão who bakes them since 38 years ago! Amazing!
Café Central is in the centre of the Village in a square known by Jogo da Bola.

I haven't been there since I was a kid and went on vacation with my friend Carol and her family. It was really funny to return to this square and notice the scale differences! The trees seemed huge at the time!

The extinguished pastry Casa das Cavacas was said to be the fist place who ever made this pastry delights, and the first to have a TV in Ericeira. Old stories reported by the nice and chatty waiter of Café Central, Sr. Manuel. It sure made a difference to be waited on with such sympathy and hospitality. Definitely recommend it and I will come back, but next time I think I will buy a whole 10 Ouriços's pack or so!

Other delights of Ericeira's typical food include sea food dishes (like Lobster Açorda, for example Açorda da Lagosta) and fish dishes as Caneja de Infundice. (Dogfish dish)

Indeed, Ericeira used to be a fisherman village but nowadays it is very famous by its Sports Life too: Surf.

As the World Surfing Reserve stands for, it proactively identifies, designates and preserves outstanding waves, surf zones and their surrounding environments around the world. This is the case of Ericeira, that back in 2011 - and along with Malibu and Santa Cruz, in California, and Manly Beach, in Australia - was chosen to be the first World Surfing Reserve in Europe.

Due to its outstanding conditions to surf, Ericeira has hosted important events like ASP World Tour and Quik Silver Pro Portugal.

The village overflows Surf and sea related items everywhere: the surf schools, the hostels, the street fashion, the film festival, the music festival... If you are in Portugal and are into this sport this is definitely the place to go.

I was pretty privileged since I had three super guides - Alexandre Costa Cabral, Duarte Bettencourt and João Guedes who generously received me on their Community Surf Hostel and gave me the best tips to enjoy the most.

The Community Surf Hostel started with three friends who had the passion for Surf, for Ericeira and for receiving others as part of a Community, and hence its name. I loved their informal tone.
Nil, who makes part of the staff was great too. Everybody was always helpful and friendly.

The three of them are experienced Surfers (João was the National Surf Champion in 2009) and will teach you how to surf or improve your skills if you're willing to. You can also try Stand Up Paddle. They actually even have a special offer, the Wave Hunters Pack thinking on this. Check out their prices here. And if you want to know some more Surf meanderings in Ericeira, its story, waves, beaches, swell and wind conditions, among other details, please check this out.

The hostel, just in front of Coxos's Beach, in Ribamar (is also very close to Ribeira d'Ilhas and São Lourenço beach) has a nice sea view, a fully equipped kitchen ready to use, and a little garden with a hammock in a tree, my favorite part of the decor.

I have to say I was impressed with the amount of work that these three had made in only two months so that the hostel was ready in time for this summer. I'm glad you made it because it is now the most comfy new place in Ericeira!

The famous Coxo's Beach wave has triggered the whole World Surfing Reserve application process. The Coxo's Beach, or literally the Lame's beach has several possible funny stories behind its name. Some claim that back in the days, the access to the beach was so rough (not anymore!) that people seemed like limping; others allege that after a shipwreck took place there, its lame Captain came ashore and was mistakenly shot. The beach was supposedly named Coxo's Beach in his honor. Some others yet say its high iodine levels took people with bone problems to visit it, looking for a cure. True or false, Charles Lepierre, a water expert chemist, considered Ericeira the most Iodine concentrated point of the Portuguese coast. Well, whatever the reason was, it sure entertained my imagination to search about it. 

In the living room there is a table to eat, nice blue couches, TV, books, and a guitar - loved that last one! Cheers up any place! The hostel's decor is breezy and the color stripes above turn out to be its interiors hallmarks. It inspired me to do this drawing with a wave taken from a Surf magazine I was given by Duarte.

One of the places they've showed me (yes, they went there with me!) was the Pizza Mobile Restaurant just in front of the amazing São Lourenço beach. The view of the restaurant is top.

Their relaxed mood and friendly tone led me to think about how that is present in the Surf world and how could I draw São Lourenço's name in a more informal typographic way: no serifs, no fixed widths and less color opacity. Had in mind too those days I devoured Sublime's music.

The paper table cover pattern was beautiful and the pizza I've ordered, great - it was half Rucola half Vegetarian one. (Check out their Menu here) I wanted to include some element of the restaurant so I started drawing during dinnertime and then cropped the paper table cover to finish painting it.
Loved the sight, the pizzas and specially the company, always with lively talking.

Night clubs and bars are pretty active in the region too. I was lucky that on this weekend, it was Barzinho's 26th anniversary and Ouriço's Sunset Party the next day. Ouriço exists since 1960 and is known to be the oldest disco in Portugal.

Yen Sung was in charge when I arrived. With her beauty and master skills in the music selection, I pictured her narrating and conducting a purple storyline. Like a Rhythmic Gymnastics Athlete, she made the music turn into a purple ribbon in the air.
No wonder she is a veteran, Yen makes part of Portuguese Electronic Music history since she started in the mythical Fragil and is a resident Dj in the most famous Lisboner disco worldwide - Lux Fragil - since its beginning, in 1998.
I loved the Ouriço club, its stunning view to Praia dos Pescadores (right in front), and its ever changing painted facade. It was just the happy day end I needed.

It was from Praia dos Pescadores that the Portuguese Royal family left in exile mode to England, when the establishment of the Republic happened, in 1910.
Talking about the Royal family, if you have time, also visit Mafra Palace-Convent, 10 minutes away from Ericeira. It is the maximum exponent of the Portuguese Baroque, built by order of John the V.
It's Library is famous as its stunning sculptures and Carillons. The construction took so long to built that an artists school was created there. Mafra gave visibility to Portuguese artists like Machado de Castro and Vieira Lusitano.
Also worth to know that this massive monument was the inspiration of the Nobel Prizewinner for Literature, José Saramago, for his book, Baltasar and Blimunda (Memorial do Convento in Portuguese).

Great to realize that 40 minutes away from Lisbon, there is such a mecca for Surf, a place full of history and tasty food with friendly people ready to welcome you.

Lamparina Art Residency

Last week I took part of Lamparina Art Residency, in Terena,  in the county of Alandroal
in Alentejo, Portugal.

Lamparina Project started from the will of two persons, Ana João Almeida and Sérgio Carronha, both artists who wanted to explore themselves and stimulate on others the relations between Art, Nature, Alentejo's Heritage and Terena's population.

From February to June, 16 artists (João Rolaça, Francisco Costa, Catherine Henke, Rita Garcia, Manuela Domingues, Nuno Almeida, João Mouro, Maja Escher, Tiago Raimundo, Joana Reais, Mariana Veloso, Sérgio Fernandes, Fernando Roussado, myself, Jorge André Catarino and Pedro Coelho) were invited to participate in the pilot experiment of this project. 

 Several different arts where represented: Installation, Engraving, Sound, Photography, Sculpture, Jewelry, Performance, Video, Painting and Drawing.

Far from the city fuss, Alentejo is one of the most beautiful provinces of Portugal, and the small village of Terena has quite a lot to offer. 

Once occupied by Romans and also by Moors, the region is full of history, beautiful monuments and rich landscapes. 

From great local products like Olive Oil, Honey, Wine, and Bread (just to name a few) this small village is just next to Lucefecit Dam. Lucefecit means Light was made in Latin. The expression fecit in Latin, was many times used to sign a piece of art. Like made by artist "x" which can suggest an artistic connection to the place too: the water as a source of creativity and life.

The amount of the natural resources here is a real luxury. Having Marble to Schist quarries in the region, its presence is so whopping, one might stumble in the marble floor pavement or the Schist that is used for coating, masonry and construction works everywhere.

Here below is a picture I took in one of the Schist quarries, just next to the Dam.

Ana and Sérgio use natural pigments of the region to do engobes (color) for ceramics. Separated from the residency, Lamparina has a space in the center of Terena where they do ceramic workshops for kids. I was quite impressed by the work they are doing there, sensitizing kids for visual matters, their own village heritage and the richness of the natural materials available. Take a look here to see what I'm talking about.

One just can not believe that such a beautiful space as the Terena Castle (see pictures and its full history here) has been left without cultural activities or proper care. I know some refurbishment works were done in the 20th century, but is was not yet enough to erase almost 200 years of abandon. This place deserved more attention. 

From 1960 to 2011 the population in Alandroal County decreased about 52% from 12.089 to 5.843 inhabitants. People aged, and others migrated to the big cities and an isolation issue came up, so I thought about doing something based on Communication and Art that could tell others about this fantastic site, include persons from Terena in this artistic project, and tell people from the world this is a place worth to visit. That was how the idea of making a series of handmade painted postcards came up. Will share with you some of them here.

While walking in Terena, I noticed how beautiful where the embroideries in the windows. I saw mostly animal and flower figures represented. On this postcard, I chose to paint both: the view of the Terena castle from the embroidered door-window of Lamparina Residency.  

One of the persons I drew was Idália Dias, a 16 year old girl (painted below) that lives just right in front of the amazing fortified Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova (Our lady of the Good New). It is her family that keeps this monument key whenever there are visitors. What a privilege and responsibility :)

Idália was nice enough to open us the door out of the visiting schedule, and she not only received us with great hospitality as she told us a lot of stories from the village, from her life and from the Sanctuary. She was cheerful, expeditious and, on her own way, special, as she made a closed Sanctuary a living thing.

 I really liked her hairdo, it made me remember a Gypsy Princess thing.

I made sure the portrait was made inside the church, since the inside is full of colors (Peek here).

This is no regular monument, it is a fortified church, from the 14th century, with a Greek Cross plan, that used to receive soldiers and was and is used for the worship of Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova.

The origin of the invocation of the Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova appears to be linked to the legend of Maria of Portugal (Queen of Castile), the daughter of King D. Afonso IV of Portugal who went to the Portuguese court to ask her father if he could help her husband, Alfonso XI of Castile, at the Battle of Salado in 1340, when the Moors invaded Andalusia.

The Legend says that the Queen stood precisely on the site where the Sanctuary was built, when she received the good news (Boa Nova) that her father would attend her request.  To thank him, she ordered the construction of the sanctuary we can see below.

I also heard this Sanctuary was built over an older church of the village, and inside, it can be found an inscription, a remain of the Endovelicus God Cult, previously established in the Iron Age and spread to most of their Empire by the Romans.

The Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova cult remains alive nowadays, and this temple a popular pilgrimage site of which is celebrated the first weekend after the Easter weekend. This pilgrimage is so important that the Monday of Pascoela (main feast day) is Alandroal's County holiday.

Still regarding faith matters, Mina's Rock Sanctuary, presumedly from the Iron Age, is another of the stunning historical spots to visit. It is a place with a huge power and magic, that can still be felt nowadays. A set of some steps carved in the stone would head to the altar of sacrifice of this holy place. And right next to it there is a hole in the rocks, a kind of a nature made well that caught my attention. It forward me to the word fecundation. Later, I was told too that back in the days, people would go there to pray and ask for a fruitful harvest.

Next to this place, there is the Lucefecit brooklet, that has been related since Middle Age with Lucifer, the Roman name for the Morning star and Goddess Venus.

The Portuguese Ethnographer-Archaeologist and founder of The Archeology National Museum, Leite de Vasconcelos, that methodical and exhaustively studied the religions of the Lusitania, claims this spot was used by the Romans in all their walks of life. There have been found several Endovelicus inscriptions in this area and one of them says Imperato Averno, that Leite de Vasconcelos translated to something like Ruled by what's emanated from below. These temples were used as oracles, where the steam would emanate from below and provide clairvoyance to the believers. He also suggests that people would practice Incubation (some sort of divination) sleeping at the site, hoping for dreams they could use or interpret later.

Maybe inspired by that, in the very first night I have slept in Terena, I had a beautiful and inspired dream with elements present there: Wisteria Flowers and Schist. In the dream, I was just watching the beauty of the colors together. In the end I decided to make a postcard out of it, as a reference to the Endovelicus cult.

In 2011, archaeological excavations in the site of Mina's Rock,  revealed the existence of an old housing area occupied in the first century BC that can be seen and visited now too. Fortunately there have been efforts by the competent authorities, to invest in archaeological research in this region. It is proven that it's worth it and it adds extra value to the municipality.

The name of the county, Alandroal, comes from a very abundant plant here, Oleander, Aloendro or Alandro in Portuguese. That, and the beautiful facades of the whitewashed houses with the blue and yellow stripes are a trade mark from Alentejo I wanted to portray in one of the post cards:

During my stay,  Ana and Sérgio spoiled me and Jorge André Catarino (who was working there at the same time) with the best of their cooks and their favorite local products. Great juices, fantastic salads, unforgettable soups, amazing seasoning... you name it! These guys are artists for life in everything they do, including food!

One of my delights was the bread made by Carlos Major, in his Bakery, one of the few remaining commercial spots with activity in Terena. It wasn't long until - in a 42ºC day - I went to draw him, and here is the result:

The background pattern was based in the Bakery (Padaria) ceramic tile floor.

The sounds in Terena are to mention too: the flocks of sheep, the birds, the crickets, the dogs (specially Jana!) , the bees, the frogs, and of course the cane flutes handmade by Sérgio. We also had the privilege to have a fantastic different music selection everyday. Very inspiring!

These Art residencies culminate with an exhibition (Nas Margens do Lucefécit) with all the artistic work done. This exhibition is included in Festival Terras do Endovélico. If you're interested, you can see the poster here and full program of the festival here.

In case you can make it, feel welcomed at the opening of the Nas Margens do Lucefécit Exhibition, on the 4th of July at 21h in Fórum Cultural Transfronteiriço de Alandroal. 

Indications on where it is and how to get there, here.

After the exhibition opening, the documentary 'Terras do Endovélico', from José Meireles will be shown. This is a precious document of research that may help us all to understand the richness of this land.

I want to thank you, Jorge André Catarino, for your companionship during our residency, everybody whom I drew and all who supported Lamparina project.  

Special Thank you Ana and Sérgio for your entrepreneurship and dedication, for sharing your knowledge, and for inviting me to participate in this project. 

May the Universe give you back to all the good you are planting with these seeds. 

This should be a work to be continued, the potential is endless.

More in Lamparina site here.

Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love and Yaw Tembe Report for Jazz.pt

It was last friday that Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love and Yaw Tembe played in Lisbon. Bernardo Álvares was there to tell us about it, Nuno Martins to photograph and I was there to draw these amazing musicians live for Jazz.pt. 

Team work :)

See the full report, photos and all the drawings here. 

Yes, I can

My illustration-collage inspiration was woman emancipation, woman as a creative driving force, woman as a volcano about to burst, the red lipstick as a powerful shocking gossip; being red, the color with the power to paralyze, to call one's attention.  

This illustration relates to Visão's article, where they wrote something like: 

"Storm in Experimenta

Financial difficulties, two cases in the Labour Court, lit General Assemblies and internal wars shake Experimenta, the cultural association responsible for a mediatic design biennial held in Lisbon and which Guta Moura Guedes is the main face"

Since Visão Magazine came out with this article, the overtime efforts of keeping up the appearances of Experimentadesign (aka EXD) became pointless since some unpleasant parts of this engine are officially public. 

Created in 1998, it is of undeniable doubt that EXD has had over time a very important role catapulting some of our Portuguese Design talent, putting Portugal in the Design scene and bringing International important names of Design here. 

One didn't expect anything less that this biennial and its employees are properly paid on time. It's a shame for Portuguese Cultural scene that this isn't the case.

Starting with the profit disease, the economical crisis, the way we look towards what it was the instituted power, what we value now, how we perceive ourselves too as active agents of this whole context... it seems the world is changing.

May this episode of the EXD history be a wise lesson for all parts involved, with all good and bad that that might implicate.

Boris Vian's Heartsnatcher Illustration

Here is an illustration of the L'Arrache-coeur (Heartsnatcher), a novel from Boris Vian.

Boris Vian was a French writer and musician among many other things. His writings include famous books like L'Écume des jours (Foam of the Daze/ Froth on the Daydream/ Mood Indigo), L'automne à Pékin (Autumn in Peking). He lived from 1920-1959 and the Heartsnatcher was his last novel edited, in 1953.

On this book, a story of several sick relationships is told in a very visual and surrealistic way. Boris Vian points out, in a corrosive way, how unbalanced and fragile human relations can be.

On that principle - and regarding this specific part of the book taken from chapter XVII - I illustrated this theme thinking that flowers need sun, water and air to grow, not soil to confine them and a flood of water to rotten their roots.

Find a little bit more about this fantastic writer here.

Conversas @ Carpe Diem Arte e Pesquisa

As CONVERSAS foram convidadas a participar na | CONVERSAS were invited to participate at

ACADEMIA DOS ILUSTRADOS FANZINE MACHINE

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LENTE | LENS
Espontâneos | The Spontaneous

COLECTIVO | COLECTIVE
Conversas | http://conversas.net/

BIONOPSE 
 O colectivo CONVERSAS, enquanto uma série de encontros informais para conhecermos e falarmos sobre os projetos e interesses uns dos outros, vai habitar a Sonda Espacial L.Q.F.U.B. com a missão de CONVERSAR.
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The collective CONVERSAS, while a series of informal meetings made so that we can get to know and discuss projects and interests of each other, will inhabit the L.Q.F.U.B. Spacecraft with the mission of CHAT.

PARTICIPANTES | PARTICIPANTS
Mafalda Fernandes, Ricardo Pereira, Carlos Rebocho, Francisco Rosa, Érica Zíngano, Rita Frazão, Joana Reais Pinto, Romes Pinheiro, Ana Magalhães, Carolina Silva, João Valente, Sara Orsi, Anett Krase, Joana Durães, Mariana Veloso, Miguel Lopes, Miguel Rodrigues, outros amigos inesperados e todos aqueles que quiserem aparecer.

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Trienal de Arquitectura de Lisboa 2013
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A Realidade e Outras Ficções
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Mariana Pestana (Curadora | Curator)
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Sonda Espacial L.Q.F.U.B.
Friendly Fire (PT)
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+info: http://www.close-closer.com/pt/programa/a-realidade-e-outras-ficcoes/sonda-espacial-l-q-f-u-b

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Alice

Open Talho

Quis o destino que – em plena Alfama, rodeados do fado e do que mais característico em Lisboa existe – quatro criativos se encontrassem neste, que é o seu laboratório de 'corte' e definição da forma das suas ideias – o Talho.

Da antiga função deste espaço ficaram as paredes de mármore e o toldo encarnado, onde está escrito a letras brancas

                                                           T A L H O

O Talho está aberto Sábado, dia 13 de Outubro das 15H às 20H. 

Venham conhecer-nos!

Rua São João da Praça,17 perto da Sé de Lisboa

O Talho Aberto faz parte da terceira edição da Abertura de Ateliês de Artistas em Lisboa.

+ info:

http://assoc-castelodif.pt/en/event

Vão-se os aneis ficam os dedos

"Better lose the saddle than the horse" would be the equivalent proverb to this Portuguese one, that  tells that when rings are gone, fingers remain, or something like that. 
This one is dedicated to these times of crisis in the world.
Made it in 2006.

Flight dream :: Sonho do Vôo

Over Brazilian fields, Carolina and I flew...

Sol :: Sun

Made this drawing some days ago, for a dear friend, regarding a text (with the same name) I wrote for her, a while ago. It´s all about light and shade.

You and your beauty inside

2004
From Smoke City´s song,  It´s amazing

To all the beautiful people :)

For John Cage´s Birth centenary

Remembering John Cage's birthday 

A legend, an inspiration, a talent, a genius, an oracle for life.

This was an exercise I did some years ago, in 2012 while in an editorial illustration course.

The briefing was to pick an ephemeris from that year to illustrate. 

From the whole 2012 wikipedia event list we consulted, I wanted to chose one related to music, and uau! John Cage would turn 100 years that year!

It was the perfect excuse to search a little bit more about him, besides his brilliance in music.

I loved to know he collected mushrooms and that he used I-Ching as a system to compose music. 

Contemporary music would've never been the same after him!

Unique, needed and irreplaceable, he used an oracle but, in the end, himself was the oracle for the future to come. 

May the Universe bless you wherever you are now. 

Illustration of a text from Bataille

« L’architecture est l’expression de l’être même des sociétés, de la même façon que la physionomie humaine est l’expression de l’être des individus. Toutefois, c’est surtout à des physionomies de personnages officiels (prélats, magistrats, amiraux) que cette comparaison doit être rapportée. En effet, seul l’être idéal de la société, celui qui ordonne et prohibe avec autorité, s’exprime dans les compositions architecturales proprement dites. Ainsi les grands monuments s’élèvent comme des digues, opposant la logique de la majesté et de l’autorité à tous les éléments troubles : c’est sous la forme des cathédrales et des palais que l’Eglise ou l’Etat s’adressent et imposent silence aux multitudes. Il est évident, en effet, que les monuments inspirent la sagesse sociale et souvent même une véritable crainte. La prise de la Bastille est symbolique de cet état de choses : il est difficile d’expliquer ce mouvement de foule, autrement que par l’animosité du peuple contre les monuments qui sont ses véritables maîtres.

Aussi bien, chaque fois que la composition architecturale se retrouve ailleurs que dans les monuments, que ce soit dans la physionomie, le costume, la musique ou la peinture, peut-on inférer un goût prédominant de l’autorité humaine ou divine. Les grandes compositions de certains peintres expriment la volonté de contraindre l’esprit à un idéal officiel. La disparition de la construction académique en peinture est, au contraire, la voie ouverte a la expression (par là même à l’exaltation) des processus psychologiques les plus incompatibles avec la stabilité sociale. C’est ce qui explique en grande partie les vives réactions provoquées depuis plus d’un demi-siècle par la transformation progressive de la peinture, jusque là caractérisée par une sorte de squelette architectural dissimulé.

Il est évident d’ailleurs, que l’ordonnance mathématique imposée à la pierre n’est autre que l’achèvement d’une évolution des formes terrestres, dont le sens est donné dans l’ordre biologique, par le passage de la forme simiesque a la forme humaine, celle-ci présentant déjà tous les éléments de l’architecture. Les hommes ne représentent apparemment dans le processus morphologique, qu’une étape intermédiaire entre les singes et les grands édifices. Les formes sont devenues de plus en plus statiques, de plus en plus dominantes. Aussi bien, l’ordre humain est-il dès l’origine solidaire de l’ordre architectural, qui n’en est que le développement. Que si l’on s’en prend à l’architecture, dont les productions monumentales sont actuellement les véritables maîtres sur toute la terre, groupant à leur ombre des multitudes serviles, imposant l’admiration et l’étonnement, l’ordre et la contrainte, on s’en prend en quelque sorte à l’homme. Toute une activité terrestre actuellement et sans doute la plus brillante dans l’ordre intellectuel, tend d’ailleurs dans un tel sens, dénonçant l’insuffisance de la prédominance humaine : ainsi, pour étrange que cela puisse sembler quand il s’agit d’une créature aussi élégante que l’être humain, une voie s’ouvre – indiquée par les peintres – vers la monstruosité bestiale ; comme s’il n’était pas d’autre chance d’échapper à la chiourme architecturale.

(G. Bataille –  Dictionnaire Critique - Architecture)