Turn

It is hard to persevere through times of doubt when one is being pulled back

In focus may lie the answer

Tiresome

Though speaking can so easily enervate,

And chosen silence exert most fascinating influence,

Though voluntary muteness may be gracious,

Wording feelings is still pivotal.

All drawings by Brazilian artist Raquel Schembri.

New week with Yuksek

So a new (and busy) week begins.

And to accompany it, great music:

Amidst the tornado of cheap pop, Yuksek is a breeze of fresh beats.

Diligence

So much to do and quite a lot of energy to do it.

Orchestrating things in an orderly fashion.

Renewing ideas from a humble perspective.

All images by Laurence Owen.

Outgoing

I’ve got to start going out a bit more.

I’ve been much too reclusive.

I’m beginning to feel the need to see new faces, new trends, new movements.

Images from Ffffound and Homotography.

Centering

Being heartbroken is denying the impact of having much too high expectations.

How self-centered.

Illustration by Allyson Mellberg.

Purposeful

When one’s mind begins to wander too much, there’s nothing like a task or a chore or a project to determine what’s important and what is irrelevant.

The words:

Let us not lose the glimmer of life, then.

Please change

I’m spending this week in a lovely Southern Brazilian capital city called Curitiba. I’ve been here many times before and always love to come back.

What I would really love, though, is to be mesmerized. By anything, really.

I am, once again, starving for novelty. Similarity is beginning to bore me beyond the unbearable.

And I’ll be completely alone during the trip. I don’t quite remember the last time I explored a city on my own, but I usually enjoy it. Hopefully surprises will find their way towards me?

I’ll let you know.

Illustration by Artaksiniya

Sorry, but I feel

totally

U

N

I

N

S

P

I

R

E

D

.

Images to help?

1.

2.

3.

Hm, it kind of worked.

Images found on FFFFOUND.

Decide

I’ve expressed my admiration for Fefe Talavera‘s work before. The care with which she draws her beautifully imaginative monsters is a wonder in its own.

I recently went to one of her exhibitions and was taken aback by her wall, graffiti-like artwork.

She’s recently turned to brighter colors and slightly simpler strokes, somewhat different from the picture above (check her page for a closer look). Both approaches are equally pleasing.

Now I don’t know if I travel Rio or if I buy one of her paintings.

Artistic or sensory pleasure?

To daze or to be confused

Some days we get so confused we don’t know where our minds are. That happens to me at least once a week.

Isn’t it a relief to find out more people feel just like we do?

At moments like this, music that isn’t easily digested helps a lot. Here’s some Dimlite (how appropriate):

And this is an illustration by Brazilian virtuoso Kako:

Sometimes, but not very often, it is good to realize things aren’t exactly what we thought or expected them to be.

Monster beauty

I said recently that there is usually something homely in art produced by women. Evidently, that is not always the case.

Since I am in a constant fight to break stereotypes, there is a Brazilian painter and illustrator who does it very gracefully, Fefe Talavera:

Depicting emotions using monsters is something she does very well too. I’ve kept up with her blog for some time now and it is always surprising to see what forms and shapes will be presented in the next image.

Drawing inspiration from street art, indigenous paintings and European masters, Talavera creates cartoon-like characters who seem full of personality and presence in the way they represent subconscious emotions.

There is definitely beauty in ugly feelings.

Feeling

A good friend of mine who’s not an artist but is a person with really well-developed artistic sensitivity came up with a pastime which is so interesting it could almost be an art experiment.

Here’s how it works. You have to stop what you’re doing on any given day and try to identify the exact emotion you’re feeling that day. It has to be quite specific, nothing like just ‘happiness’. After you discover what it is, you google it and see what the first page on the search result page is. Only if you don’t find anything meaningful can you look for an image.

I decided to do it today. I was feeling true disappointment after having let down someone who’s really dear to me.

Here’s the quote I found:

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

I must tell you it was such a relief to see it.

Illustration by Finnish artist Jesse Auersalo

May it be true too.

From dark to bright

I love illustrations and guache paintings but, to be honest, I don’t usually look for it like I do with other types of art. This means that when I do like an illustration, it is because it made its way into my liking by its own talented and impressiveness.

This drawings by American artist Katie Horan did just that:

From the Ladymonsters series

Another new artist who deserves all the attention and encouragement in the world is wonder painter Frank Gonzales:

From the Birds series

I love depictions of birds and his are just eye-wettingly wonderful.

Two beautiful sides of the color spectrum to make one eastethically happy.

No fear of color

One of the most characteristic features of Brazilian art and design is its unafraid use of colors. People in Brazil thrive best in colorful surroundings and some people do it really, really well.

A young talent who’s been making wakes in the illustration, web design and fashion worlds is Belo Horizonte-born Albino Papa. Talented as he is resourceful, his latest works for the fashion industry have got him a lot of attention and lots of interested and interesting clients.

For the São Paulo Fashion Week website

A true virtuoso.