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.

Marco Barroso (LUME) at Jazz.pt

It was in 2006 that the pianist and composer Marco Barroso started Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble (LUME).

On a big band style, 14 musicians make LUME's music alive. In all its forms this music lives with surprise, suspense, irony, knowledge, humor, fun, sense of drama and density.
It is a patchwork of kaleidoscopic detail that, one could tell, took many hours of complex and thorough embroidery work.
In the end there is always a cinematic narrative feel of layers upon layers, because so many different types of sounds - not just music - participate on this knit. That was the trigger for this drawing background full of layers and colors.

The Hot Club was completely packed and the energy level was pretty high. Some saturday night fever was going on and I was just sorry it had to end after 8 tunes. Loved the way how the music swallowed the public on the first theme with a really well built crescent and how they called everyone's attention for the second part of the concert with a super scenic recording of glass breaking.
The music was elastic and technicolorful, reaching from Trash Metal to Funky Grooves. On the contrary of what Marco Barroso preached - that there is music to shake your ass or to headbang - we left the club knowing there is actually one where you can do both - this one.

With his very particular conducting and playing style, matching pieces in the right place and time, I thought of Marco as some sort of "Music all mighty".  On that night his hands where stretchable and he could reach anywhere for his music sake. Something like the special power Marvel's Mr. Fantastic - Reed Richards, of Fantastic Four - had. The only difference was that they where Fantastic Fourteen.

I'm glad Marco didn't proceed his engineering studies. Although, one could say something from the engineering type of thought remained, since his compositions seem to have a lot of understanding on how to make a very complete machine work with dozens of different mechanical parts with a certain tuning, only Marco Barroso can pitch. I guess some life twists happen for a reason.

And, of all things above, I believe the music scene needs him devolving us reality with his own special brand new sense.

Check out the drawing at Jazz.pt here.

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.

Victor Hugo with the Moonshiners @ Sabotage

It was last week that Moonshiners played at Sabotage Club in Lisbon.

The Moonshiners are Victor Hugo (voice and guitar), Gamblin Sam (voice and harmonic) and Susie Filipe (drums).

We were just a few listening but, the concert kept going with the feel of a mustard landscape.

Countryside was the scenery for the guitar strings to fly high, elsewhere. 

Victor Hugo has the same name of one of the biggest French writers, may he live up beautifully to that.

Thank you Sabotage team for trusting my work.

Susie Filipe with the Moonshiners @ Sabotage

It was last week that Moonshiners played at Sabotage Club in Lisbon.

The Moonshiners are Victor Hugo (voice and guitar), Gamblin Sam (voice and harmonic) and Susie Filipe (drums).

Susie Filipe added color and will to the concert. In all moments, I felt she was thrilled to be there and actively contributed for a fun step dance tone to the hole thing.  

Thank you Sabotage team for trusting my work.

João Veludo with the Underdogs @ Sabotage

The Underdogs played last week at Sabotage Club

The Underdogs are Victor Hugo (guitar, voice and harmonic), Alexandre Mano (bass) and João Veludo (drums)

The lights were shining to Veludo that was seriously playing. If the Underdogs were a house, Veludo was the architectural plan. 

Thank you Sabotage team for trusting my work.

Alexandre Mano with the Underdogs @ Sabotage

The Underdogs played last week at Sabotage Club

The Underdogs are Victor Hugo (guitar, voice and harmonic), Alexandre Mano (bass) and João Veludo (drums)

Some rock and blues was going on and, throughout the concert, I had the feeling his bass was a surfboard and his playing was pointing out to a brighter point in some tropical island or Hawaiian print.

Alexandre Mano was not only playing bass, he was performing and entertaining. One could tell how much fun he was having being the PR of the band when he spoke to the drunk man in the audience that that night permanently - funnily or not - tried to sabotage their concert.

He stepped up to the plate with grace and ingenuity, after all he was a music surfer :)

Thank you Sabotage team for trusting my work.